Sweet William
by KelleBelle1981
Summary: When Tara and Spike figure out what is wrong with Buffy, it is up to Spike to fix the problem. Takes place after
1. Lies and Denial

Title: Sweet William 

Author: Kelley (beanyb1999@hotmail.com) . . . actually part of the Kelley and Shelley writing duo.

Rating: Uh, PG or PG-13?  There isn't anything really naughty in this.

Distribution: Hahaha.  Someone would actually want this?  Heh.  Ok.  Tell me first.

Feedback:  Please!  Try to avoid flaming if you don't like it though.  

Summary: After Tara and Spike figure out what is wrong with Buffy, it is up to Spike to fix the problem.  Takes place after "Wrecked" and perhaps "Gone".  Possible spoilers for an upcoming episode, but I really doubt this would actually happen.  B/S

Disclaimer: I own nothing.  Joss and Mutant Enemy own all characters of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer".  Spike will be mine one day though.  I'll make sure of that!

Dedication: For Christy who has taken time out of her busy schedule to give suggestions and make corrections for this story.  You're awesome, Christy!

******************************************************************* 

"I . . . did . . . NOT . . . come . . . back . . . wrong!"  Buffy cried while giving the punching bag a sound beating.  Spike was wrong.  He had to be!  She took a deep breath, trying to forget Spike's words after he hit her without his chip going off.  "Stupid vampire!"  She punched the bag again, showing no mercy.  "I WILL prove you wrong!"

"Prove who wrong?"

Buffy jumped and turned around.  "Oh . . . hi, Tara.  Um, no one.  Just having a bad day . . . as usual."

"B-Buffy, are y-you ok?"  Tara asked, looking concerned.

"I'm fine, Tara," she sad, smiling weakly.  "Really," she said with emphasis.

Tara stared at the Slayer for a long time, frowning.  She wished she knew how to help Buffy.  Staring into her cold eyes, she asked, "Where'd you get those bruises?"

Buffy's eyes shifted away from the blonde witch.  Great.  She tried to think of something to say that did not involve Spike and sex and . . . "Demons, really BIG demons.  They were tough," she said quickly.

"H-How many of them?" Tara asked uneasily.

"What?"  More questions!  Aaaah!  She shook her head.  "Uh, three?"

Tara bit her lip.  "Did Spike help you with them?"

Spike.  Why can't he go away?  "What makes you think Spike was there?  We aren't always together, ya know?"

"S-Sorry.  I just know that he's been helping you patrol a lot lately."

Ha!  Buffy bit her tongue to hold back that Ha too.  "It's ok.  Sorry.  I've just had a lot on my mind lately."

Tara looked down.  "Yeah.  I-I understand."

Buffy nodded slowly.  "I suppose you do.  Sorry about the problems you and Willow are having."

"It's not your fault.  She's getting carried away.  I can't b-believe she got involved with Rack.  It's k-kinda scary," Tara replied quietly, eyes downcast.

Both girls were silent for a moment.

"Did you need something, Tara?" Buffy finally asked.

Anya had told her that Buffy walked into the shop and rudely ignored her, going straight to the training room.  "No, I guess not."  She left.

Buffy watched her walk up the stairs.  She sighed heavily after hearing the door close.  She knew she should have felt bad for the way she acted around Tara, but in all honesty, she felt indifferent.  

Automatically, her thoughts drifted back to Spike.  Aaaah!  She mentally screamed in frustration.  "Stupid vampire!" she mumbled.  "I did NOT come back wrong!"

Wanting to push thoughts of the annoying bleached wonder from her mind, she turned around and angrily began her tirade on the defenseless punching bag yet again.


	2. His Passion

Title: Sweet William 

Author: Kelley (beanyb1999@hotmail.com) 

Rating: Er, PG or PG-13.  Whatever.

Distribution: Yeah, sure, take it.  Tell me first.  

Feedback: I like feedback.  Please, be gentle though!  No harsh flames!

Summary: After Spike and Tara figure out what is wrong with Buffy, it is up to Spike to make things right again.  Takes place after "Wrecked" or "Gone".  B/S story . . .like I'd pair them with anyone else!

Disclaimer: Joss still owns these characters.  I'm trying to get Spike still.

Dedication: Once again to Christy for her help, and for encouraging me to post this.  For Shelley, just cuz it would be wrong if I didn't dedicate this to her since she is the other half of my brain.  For Bridgett who keeps reading "I'll Most Likely Kill You In The Morning" (Kelley and Shelley story).  Here is something new!

********************************************************************* 

"Timmy has a bad feeling about this, Princess."

"Passions" was on, but Spike wasn't paying much attention to it.  His brain was working hard, distracting him from his beloved soap opera.

At first, he'd been pretty happy that his chip no longer worked on the Slayer.  For a short moment, he thought he'd like to add her to his list of slayed slayers.  That didn't last long though.  

Unfortunately, this gave her more reason to stake him.  He wasn't the defenseless, helpless Spike he had been right after getting the stupid chip.  

It also disturbed him that she did come back wrong.  There are ALWAYS consequences when it comes to spells of that magnitude.  Whatever was wrong, he really hoped that maybe someone would find out soon.

One of the Scoobies maybe . . . 

Who was he kidding?  They were blind.  Or else just really good at pretending Buffy was fine.  He imagined it was a little of both.

He pulled out a cigarette and lit it, sitting back.  He knew better than to mention this to the Nibblet.  Tara might be his best bet.  She seemed to be pretty good at reading people.

Still, he knew he needed to be careful.  If the Scoobies knew, he was pretty sure they'd waste no time in staking him.

"Bloody hell!"  Who could he talk to?  

He got up and began pacing.  Buffy was trying to ignore him.  She'd said she was disgusted.  "Stupid bitch."  He rolled his eyes and kicked the wall as hard as possible.

Why he put up with the Slayer, why he loved her . . . it didn't make sense.  He really was lost.  Drusilla had told him that not even she could help him after he proclaimed his love for Buffy.  

So . . . could no one help him?

He had a bad feeling about all of this.  Buffy was impossible to reach.  She still believed he was incapable of love just because he had no soul.  That bint still had a lot to learn about love and the real meaning of a soul.

Even after everything he'd done for her . . . 

He was about to walk out of the door of his crypt when he was reminded of what he was . . . a vampire.  The sun did not like vampires.  

He screamed in pain and slammed the door.  Letting out a defeated sigh, he decided to sleep until the sun set.


	3. Unexpected

Title: Sweet William 

Author: Kelley (beanyb1999@hotmail.com)

Rating: PG-13; just to be safe.

Feedback: Yes, please!

Distribution: If you want it, tell me.  I'll probably be really surprised and a tad bit confused, but hey, it would still be cool!

Summary: Takes place after "Wrecked" or perhaps "Gone" (use your imagination).  Spike and Tara figure out what is wrong with Buffy (eventually), and it is up to Spike to fix it.  This is a B/S fic!!!

Disclaimer: Joss still owns everything.  I'm still working on rights to Spike.

Dedication: For Christy just cuz she rocks!  For Shelley, my partner in crime, er warped writing.

********************************************************************

Buffy wandered through the cemetery at a steady pace.  She'd killed one vampire already.  She didn't feel any pleasure from it.  

Of course not.  

She was just going through the motions.  She remembered singing that one night.

"And I just want to be alive."  

Alive.

She was alive, but only in the physical sense, although it didn't even feel that way sometimes.  

She wanted to feel again.  She really did.  As long as she was stuck on Earth, she might as well feel human.  Fully human.  Not wrong.  She'd been working hard at convincing herself she was right.

Of course, deep inside, she knew Spike was right.

Spike was always right.  He could see through her.

"Slayer."

She rolled her eyes.  As if thinking about him wasn't annoying enough, he had to be there at the moment.

"Spike."

"Fancy meeting you here," he muttered.

"Yeah.  What do you want?" she asked, obviously irritated.

"Why do you assume I want something?" he retorted dryly.

"Why are you here, Spike?"  She glared at the vampire.

Spike looked around.  "Well, Slayer, I do live here," he shot back.

Buffy sighed.  She'd ended up right in front of Spike's crypt.  Well, this looked bad on her part.  Her feet must have led her there.  She wasn't even thinking about where she was going.

"Why are you here, luv?"

"Just passing through, Spike.  It's called patrol."

"So, up for a bit of a rough and tumble?"

"Spike, you're a pig.  Is sex all you think about?" she asked angrily.

"I was talking about killing the baddies out there, Slayer."

She looked up at him.  He was smirking.  Stupid vampire.

"Well, I see one I could get rid of right now," she commented, placing a stake right above Spike's heart.

"I'm touched you think I'm bad.  Really.  Means a lot."

"Bad, of course, meaning more than one thing," she replied evenly.

"You didn't seem to think so the other night.  You know I'm good, luv."

"Spike!  You're such a . . . such a  . . . pig," she spat.

He smiled.  "You already used that one."

"This is stupid," Buffy mumbled.  "I have things to do, Spike."

"Buffy," he said, then paused.

She looked him in the eyes.  He said her real name.  She knew what was about to come next.  He'd suddenly become serious.  Great.

"We need to talk," he said quietly.

"We have nothing to talk about, Spike."

"Yes, we do.  We've got to figure out what's wrong with you."

"Why do you care?"

"You know why, Buffy."

"Oh come one.  I bet you're dying to make me slayer number three."

Spike growled and grabbed her shoulders roughly.  "You know that's not true."

"Oh really?"  She tilted her head, exposing her neck.  "Don't you want a bite?  Come on.  I know you do."

Spike closed his eyes.  No!  He wasn't going to do this.  "Buffy . . . stop."

"Oh, come on, Spike.  You can do it," Buffy said with contempt.

He lowered his mouth toward her neck, licking his lips.  He could hear her heart beating.  Her blood was calling to him.  He stopped halfway, taking an unneeded breath.  She knew how to hurt him.  

He began to lower his head again.  Buffy closed her eyes, preparing herself.  She wanted it.  

His lips touched her neck.  

He gave her a tender kiss on the neck, then pulled back.  

She opened her eyes and looked at him.  He looked at her.  She blinked quickly, pretending there wasn't really any pain in his eyes.  Dammit!  She touched his face with her hand, but quickly pulled it back.

"What stopped you?  Why didn't you kill me?"

"I couldn't handle losing you again."

She rolled her eyes.  "If you say so."

"I love you, Buffy."  He said the words so softly; she had to hold her breath just to hear them.  _He never gives up_, she thought.

She looked into his eyes.  His gaze was intense.  

Then, she saw it.

She saw the love.

She'd never paid enough attention before, but this time, she bravely stared into his loving eyes for the first time.

She panicked.  "I have to go," she said quickly, and then ran off.

Spike didn't try to follow her.  He was tired.

He looked down at the ground, and blinked back the tears.

Things kept getting more and more difficult.

His head shot up.  He sensed another vampire nearby.  It seemed very familiar.  He suddenly realized who it was.

As if on cue, the vampire walked from the hiding spot.  Spike's eyes focused on the form intently.

"Hello, Spike."

He grinned when he realized he wouldn't have to fight.  He walked closer to the vampire.  "Hello, Dru."

Drusilla walked up to him and touched the side of his face, the same place that Buffy had touched him.  "My poor Spike," she whispered.

He stood frozen.  "Drusilla, what are you doing here?"

"The stars told me you needed help, so I came to you."

"What are you talking about?"  He shifted and she moved her hand away from his face.

"The Slayer . . . she's all wrong," Drusilla said, swaying.

"I already know that much, Dru."  He looked around.

She grabbed his face with both of her hands.  "Oh, Spike.  Do you know why?"

"Well no.  I'm not sure."

"She was torn from the happy place.  The moon has been crying for her.  Her problem is very obvious.  You just need to look closer."

"Huh?  Do you know what's wrong with her?"

Drusilla giggled.  "My sweet Spike.  Of course I know."  She smiled.


	4. Working Together

Title: Sweet William 

Author: Kelley (beanyb1999@hotmail.com)

Rating: PG-13….I guess.

Summary: Spike and Tara figure out what is wrong with Buffy.  Spike gets to fix it.

Disclaimer: Still don't own them.  I own nothing…except the numerous books I need for my classes.  You can have those if you really want them.  I'll give them to Joss in exchange for Spike.

Dedication: For Christy for helping me.  For Shelley cuz she's just as big of a crackhead as I am.  For Mary Anne Gruen for being my first reviewer and for being a great author that I wish I had the talent of (read her story "The Journey".  It's great!).

********************************************************************** 

While Anya was busy with several customers, Tara took the chance to grab a few books from the shelf.  Ever since her last encounter with Buffy, Tara had been dying to figure out what was wrong with the Slayer.

She didn't tell anyone her suspicions.  They'd only upset everyone.  Willow had caused enough problems.  

She sighed, getting together all the books she needed.  She had chosen four.  Hopefully, there would be something in at least one of those dusty old books.

After a quick goodbye to Anya, she picked up her books and left.  Two of them were fat; the other two were rather small, making carrying them pretty awkward.  She finally managed to get a good hold on them and walked out into the night.

"Well well well . . . what are we doing?"

Tara squealed, dropping the four books.  "S-Spike!  Don't scare m-me like that!"

Spike bent down and picked up one of the books.  "Don't tell me that you're about to do a bleedin' spell, Tara!  Didn't you learn from Red's mistake?"

"I-I'm n-not doing a spell," she stammered.  Chip or no chip, Spike still appeared intimidating from time to time.

"She seeks the truth.  The Slayer concerns her," Drusilla said.

"What's botherin' you about her?" Spike questioned.

She looked at the vampire.  He already knew something.  She could see it on his face.  "Well, I just wanted to take a look at the spell we performed on Buffy.  It's j-just that I th-think something is wr-wrong with her, and I w-want to know what it is."

"So, you believe she came back wrong then?" Spike asked, staring closely at the witch.

She looked at him uncomfortably and took a deep breath.  "Yes, I be-believe she came back wrong."  She sighed, looking down.

"She's a good witch," Drusilla said, giggling.  "She's more powerful than she lets on.  She sees the colorful lights around people."

"Uh, right, Dru."  Spike shook his head quickly.  "So, uh, we'll work with you.  Drusilla here knows what's wrong.  It's just a matter of making sense of what she says.  That's the tricky part."

Drusilla playfully scolded Spike.  "Naughty Spike for picking on Princess."

"Yeah.  O-ok.  Let's j-just hurry up."  She handed Spike one of the books to carry, but he took the two larger ones instead.

"Whispers whispers everywhere.  Sweet William is waiting patiently," Drusilla said to no one in particular.

"Ok, Dru.  We'll discuss this when you get back."  Spike put an arm around the crazy vampire's shoulders and walked next to Tara.

"It's going to be a long night, Witch.  I hope you have some food.  Say, do you have any of those little marshmallows?"

Tara smiled at Spike.  This was going to be interesting.


	5. Spike's Betrayal

Title: Sweet William 

Author: Kelley (beanyb1999@hotmail.com)

Rating:  Uh, PG-13?  Don't really know what to rate it.  No naughtiness in the story.

Disclaimer:  Spike's mine.  ALL mine!  Ok, not really.  I'm still working on it, but Joss is being rather selfish.  So, he owns all the BtVS characters still.

Dedication:  Once again, for Christy.  For Shelley, the Keeper of the right half of our combined muse.  For Bridgett, who always gives positive reviews.  For Sarianna, Lami, and Mary Anne for the great reviews as well.  Ok, shutting up now.

Note: I'd like to thank dreamcoat for telling me how to get rid of the evil numbers!

**************************************************************************** 

Buffy stared at the three figures in front of the Magic Box.  She was standing across the street in a dark, hidden corner.  Once her eyes had completely focused she noticed Tara talking to Spike.  They were both holding books, discussing something Buffy could not hear.  There was a third figure standing to the other side of Spike.  She couldn't see who it was, but the presence seemed familiar.  Only when Spike stepped towards Tara did Buffy figure it out.

Drusilla!  That ho!  What was she doing there?  

As if her sudden presence wasn't bad enough, Spike put his arm around her as they walked off.

_What?_  Buffy's brain was screaming.  She glared.  Tara was obviously working with them. 

  
But why?

And why was Drusilla in town?

_Spike is full of shit_, she thought angrily.  _If he loves me, what is he doing with his ex-ho?_

She was going to follow them but decided against it.  She'd beat it out of Spike tomorrow.

When they were out of sight, Buffy stomped over to the Magic Box.

"Hello, Buffy," Anya said cheerfully.

Buffy stopped and glared at the ex-demon.  Anya frowned.

"Buffy, rudeness is not an attractive quality in a woman.  You should really look into anger management."

"You're one to talk," Buffy snapped.

"You know what, Buffy?  I'm tired of you walking around all mopey and being all bitchy.  Get over it!" Anya cried.

"Whoa.  Lots of tension here, ladies!"

Anya turned to look at Xander who had just walked into the shop.  She smiled.  "Hi!"

"What's going on?" he asked with a concerned look on his face.

"Buffy's being a bitch," Anya put it bluntly.

"Now Anya.  Be nice.  That's just rude," Xander scolded.

"Xander.  She is!  She glared at me when I was trying to be nice to her.  That's the second time today," Anya protested.

"Well, maybe she's having a bad day.  Calling her a bitch is not going to make her feel better," Xander said calmly.

"Thank you, Xander," Buffy said.  She smiled at him.

"I don't understand this," Anya said in frustration.  "If I'm having a bad day, I'm supposed to try and be nice to people so I don't cause them to have a bad day too.  But if Buffy's being a bitch because of her bad day, causing me to have a bad day too I might add, I'm still supposed to be nice even though she isn't making an effort to be nice too?  Xander, that's stupid.  I shouldn't have to stand here and take it.  I'm standing up for myself!"

Xander stared at his future wife.  He couldn't really argue with her.  That did make sense to him.

"Sorry," Buffy said quietly.  "I didn't mean to upset you."  She mustered the best smile she could.  "I'm going to the training room now."  She walked off.

After she was gone, Xander looked at Anya.  "Oook, that was strange.  Buffy's acting totally weird."

"Xander, she has been acting weird ever since we brought her back.  I'm telling you, she's broken.  We broke her."

"She's not broken, Ahn!  She's just got a lot to work out."

"Oh, please!  You and Willow are both so blind.  She IS broken."

"Why do you think she's broken?  She still slays the bad guys."

"First of all, she was pulled from Heaven.  Secondly, she never laughs anymore.  Thirdly, she'd rather be around Spike than us."  She nodded her head, making her point.

"Ok, Spike thinks he's in love with Buffy.  He follows her around.  Spike can't love though.  He's an evil soulless demon," Xander said, going off on a tangent.

"Oh, I see.  You think because he's a demon he can't love or feel any emotions?  I guess you'd look at me the same way if I was still a demon, wouldn't you?" Anya asked, tapping her foot.

"No, of course not.  It's vampires I don't like."

"Yeah, right.  I'll have you know that demons have feelings too," Anya retorted.

"Not Spike," Xander grumbled.

"Yes, even Spike," Anya replied.  "Especially so."

"What do you mean by that?" Xander asked.

"Spike acts very human for a vampire.  He eats our food, watches television, loves very passionately," Anya added with emphasis.

"But he doesn't have a soul like Dead Boy does."  Anya looked at Xander.  "You know . . . Angel," he replied.

"Angel has a human soul because of a curse.  Am I right?"

"Well, yea.  A major happy takes that away though."

"Spike HAS a soul, but it's a demon soul.  I had a demon soul.  I had emotions.  Spike has emotions.  He's a very unusual vampire, yes, but humans have always believed that vampires are soulless just because they don't possess a human soul."

"So?  I still don't like him," Xander remarked.

Anya smiled.  She'd gotten through to Xander a little bit.  

She put her arms around his neck and kissed him.

Downstairs, Buffy relentlessly took out her frustrations on the punching bag before stopping altogether.  She slumped to the ground and began sobbing instead.


	6. Losing Your Conscience

Title: Sweet William 

Author: Kelley (beanyb1999@hotmail.com)…for anyone who is interested, Shelley and I posted the final chapter of "Cordelia the Wise" earlier!

Rating: PG-13?  How does that sound?

Distribution:  Sure, why not?  Fun times!

Feedback:  Review!  It's fun.  For those of you who are concerned about Drusilla, it'll be ok.  It will be brought up later on.

Summary: Spike and Tara figure out what is wrong with Buffy.  Spike gets to fix it.

Disclaimer:  I think I might get Joss to buckle and let me have Spike.  Or not.  Can't blame a girl for trying though.  He still owns them.  It won't do any good to sue.  The only thing you'll get will probably be my Snoopy doll and a shirt or two.

Dedication:  A HUGE thanks to everyone who has been sending me great reviews.  It means so much to me.  I'm blushing over here!  Really!  Thanks.  Great reviews are always fun to read when you're stressed about schoolwork and tests.  I love you guys!  Another dedication to Christy cuz she is helping.  And of course, one for Shelley cuz she's a big crackhead.

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"Tara," Spike complained.  "I just ate all the marshmallows!  Do you have any more?"

"Yeah.  There's one more bag," she said, not looking up from the book she was reading.

"Spike, Princess is hungry," Drusilla whined.  "Can I go get someone to eat?"

"No, Dru.  You can't," Spike said irritably.  Drusilla was not being very forthcoming.  "I'm pretty sure you ate enough on your way here."

"You're ruining my fun, Spikey.  Miss Edith thinks that is very naughty of you."

"Dru, this isn't supposed to be fun.  You're supposed to tell us what is wrong with the Slayer.  Remember that, pet?"

"The stars do not wish me to tell you.  Sweet William is patiently waiting for you to solve the puzzle."

Tara looked up from her book for the first time.  "Sweet William?"

Drusilla giggled at Tara's confused expression.  "Tick tock, tick tock.  The smart witch will figure it out."

"This isn't h-helping any, Spike.  Why is she doing this?" Tara asked, frustrated.

"Because she's evil and she can."  Spike glared at Drusilla.

"Whispers . . .whispers.  The Slayer cries tonight.  Open a book.  It will tell you her secret."

Tara opened another book.  She began flipping through the pages.  Stopping, she looked at Spike.  "Spike, if you don't have a soul, how is it that you love Buffy?"

Spike shrugged.  "Don't rightly know.  I supposed all demons have some sort of soul," he said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Drusilla smiled.  "My Spike is smart.  The Slayer holds his soul in the palm of her hand.  How much does she affect your conscience?"

"So, really, when someone is turned into a vampire, they lose their conscience, but still have a soul, even though it isn't a human soul.  I get it.  That explains why you have such strong feelings.  The soul in your demon makes you that way," Tara said, an idea obviously forming in her head.

Drusilla clapped her hands when Tara looked down, reading the page that had caught her attention.  "The witch is smart.  She's getting it.  Sweet William is so proud."

"Dru, what in the bleedin' hell are you talking about?"

"O-ok!  People confuse soul and conscience really.  I mean, vampires do feel!  They can be very passionate about things.  Spike is very passionate when it comes to Buffy or anyone he cares about.  You don't have a human soul, but you have a soul."

Spike nodded.  "I'm not a poofter like Angelus though," he added.

Tara kept talking.  "You lose the conscience that makes people feel guilt for doing bad things.  This makes so much sense now!"

"I'm glad someone finally caught on.  NO one listens to me, and I've been trying to say this forever!"

Tara looked at the book in front of her again.  "Spike.  It's right here!  Look!"  She shoved the book in Spike's direction.  "When we brought Buffy back, she returned without a soul!  That's why she's been acting so strange.  She doesn't have a soul at all!"

Drusilla cheered.  "Smart, smart witch.  Miss Edith is proud."


	7. Getting Some Answers

Title: Sweet William 

Author: Kelley (beanyb1999@hotmail.com)

Rating: PG-13 again, I think.

Distribution: Take it.  Mock it.  Laugh at it.  Whatever.  Tell me first if you want to put it somewhere else though so I will know where it is going.

Feedback: Fun times!  I like reviews.  The good ones always make me happy!

Summary:  Spike and Tara have figured out what is wrong with Buffy.  Spike gets to fix the problem.  S/B of course.

Disclaimer: Don't own the characters.  Joss does.  Mutant Enemy does.  I don't work with any of those people unfortunately.  I am still sticking to the "trying to own Spike" thing though.  Mmmm.  Spike.

Dedication: For Christy and Shelley.  For all my awesome reviewers…the positive reviews really mean a lot to me.  I hope I can keep everyone happy.

*****************************************************************

Buffy woke up still exhausted the next morning.  Her eyes felt swollen.  "Ugh."

She slowly pushed herself to a sitting position in bed.  After breaking down in the training room last night, she felt exhausted.  When she was sure her face had cleared up enough, she walked out of the training room.  Anya had been busy counting money and Xander was sitting at the table, reading a magazine.  She'd said a quick goodbye and raced back to her house.  She practically collapsed on her bed, falling asleep immediately.

Buffy got dressed and put her hair in a messy ponytail.  She walked downstairs into the kitchen.

"Hey, Buffy," Dawn grumbled, not a morning person.

"Hey."  She sat at the table and yawned.

"Rough night?" Dawn asked.

Buffy's eyes widened.  "Huh?"

"Your eyes are puffy, your hair is a mess . . .you ok?"

Buffy wanted to scream.  She was tired of people asking her if she was ok.  "I'm fine, Dawnie."

She suddenly remembered what she had planned to do this morning.  "Dawn, I have to go somewhere for awhile.  Will you be ok alone?"

"Gee, I don't know.  Without the Super Slayer here for a few minutes . . .I'll be fine, Buffy."

Buffy rolled her eyes.  "Ok, I get it.  Be back soon."

A short time later, she kicked open the door of Spike's crypt.  He was half asleep, with the TV on.  Well, he was dozing off until the door was kicked open.

"Bloody hell!" he screamed, closing the door quickly.  "Are you trying to get me fried, Slayer?"

Buffy punched him in the face.  "You pig."  She kicked him in the stomach.

"What did I do?" he asked, gasping.

She knocked his feet out from under him and kicked him in the side.  "What's going on?"

"Slayer."  She kicked him again, and then straddled him, holding a stake to his heart.  "What's wrong with you, pet?"

"Where is she?" she hollered.

"Who?"  He grimaced when she slapped him.

"Your ho.  Drusilla.  Where is she?"

_Uh oh!_ Spike thought.  "She's not here."

"Where . . . IS . . . she?"  She glared at the vampire.

"I don't know!"  Buffy punched him in the face again.

"You don't know?  Hell-llllo!  Doesn't her presence concern you at all?  She's psycho!  You don't know what she could be doing right now!"

Spike sighed.  "Tara's got it under control.  She's not here to cause problems.  That's not why she came to Sunnydale."

"So?  That doesn't mean she won't go around and kill about a thousand people or whatever while she is in town!"

"Luv, for some reason I trust that nothing will happen while she is here.  Like I said, that isn't why she came here."

"Why is she here?  I saw you and her going somewhere with Tara.  You better not have hurt Tara."

"We didn't do a thing to her, luv.  She's fine.  Call her and ask her yourself!"

"Why is Drusilla here?  I saw you put your arm around her."

Spike rolled his eyes.  "Jealous, pet?"

Buffy fumed.  "No!  I'm not jealous!"

"Then why do you care, Slayer?  Really?"

"You told me you loved me."

"I do," Spike said sincerely.  "I'll never stop either."

"But you're gonna get your kicks with the ho since I don't love you back.  Is that it?" she spat.

"Buffy, no.  That's not even why she came to town!"

"Are you planning on leaving with her?"

"Do you want me to stay, Slayer?" Spike asked, smirking.

"It doesn't matter to me," she shrugged.

"I think it does though.  I'm here to stay, pet."

Buffy regarded him for a moment.  She got off him and sat on the sarcophagus.  He got up and sat next to her.  His lip was bleeding, but he barely noticed and rubbed it off without even realizing he did so.  

Buffy stared at the floor, lost in thought.  Spike stared at her for a moment.

"What's on your mind, luv?"

"Nothing, Spike."  

She looked at him.  He was surprised to see a tear fall down her cheek.  She looked away again.  

Spike put his arm around her shoulder.  She leaned into him, crying softly.  He kissed her head.

"Everything will be all right, Slayer," he said softly.  She began to cry even harder.  He held her while she cried.  After awhile, he put two fingers under her chin and tilted her face up.  She blinked a few times.  He kissed her eyes, kissing away her tears.  She stared at him, and he leaned forward and planted a kiss on her mouth, but pulled away before anything started.  She frowned, looking a little hurt.

"Spike, why is Drusilla here?" she asked more softly this time.

He sighed.  "We need to get Tara."

"Why?"  She furrowed her brow and stood up.

"It's best if she explains it to you.  You wouldn't understand if Drusilla tried to explain."

"Explain what?" Buffy asked with nervous curiosity.

"Well, you know you came back wrong.  We figured out what is wrong about you."

"Wh-what?  What's wrong with me?"

"Buffy, I really shouldn't be the one to tell you.  Tara needs to."

"Can it be fixed?" Buffy asked in a near whisper.

Spike smiled.  "Tara's working on it right now, luv."

Buffy took a deep breath.  Whatever it was, she didn't want to hear it. She knew that for sure.

"I'll get in touch with Tara."

Buffy nodded as Spike walked downstairs.  She had a bad feeling about how things were going to turn out.


	8. Having A Soul

Title: Sweet William 

Author: Kelley (beanyb1999@hotmail.com)

Rating: PG-13 yet again.

Distribution: Ya want it?  Really?  Hahaha!  Heh, just let me know.

Feedback: Yeah, baby, yeah.  Bring it on!

Summary: Tara and Spike figure out what is wrong with Buffy.  Spike gets to fix the problem.

Disclaimer:  "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and all characters are sole property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, UPN, and the other people who own them.  They still don't know about my evil plot to kidnap Spike and make him do whatever I want him to.  Ooops, did I just say that out loud?

Dedication: For Christy, who has been helping me.  She's got the flu right now!  Let's hope she feels better soon since being sick really sucks.  For Shelley, my co-writer for some other Buffy fanfic.  We finally started the sequel to "I'll Most Likely Kill You In The Morning"…so uh, yeah.  Smile n stuff.  A huge thanks to all my awesome reviewers.  You guys rule!

************************************************************************

Everyone sat around the table in the Magic Box.  They were all wondering why Tara had called them there.  

Tara smiled, waiting for Spike and Buffy to arrive.

As if on cue, Buffy opened the door and walked in.  Spike ran in right behind her, the blanket covering him smoking.  He threw the blanket off and sat down at the table.  Buffy remained standing.

"Buffy, you might want to be sitting down," Tara said.

"Where is Drusilla?" Spike asked.

"Drusilla?  Wait a second!  No one said anything about Drusilla being here!" Xander exclaimed.   Tara looked behind Xander and nodded.  Everyone turned around as Drusilla slowly emerged from some hidden part of the shop.

"Merciful Zeus!"  Xander exclaimed in terror, jumping back and grabbing the nearest stake he could find.  Spike and Tara grabbed his arms to stop him.

"Calm down, Harris," Spike growled, giving the young man a threatening look.  

Xander mumbled, "Fine, but you better keep her under control."  

"Uh, why?  Why is she here?  Why isn't she tied up?" Willow asked, her look of terror matching Xander's.

"She's here to help," Tara explained grimly.

"Help?  Help with what?  The body count?" Xander asked sarcastically.

"Shut up, Xander," Anya said, smacking his arm.

"What's going on?" Dawn questioned.

Drusilla smiled.  "The witch solved the puzzle.  Now it's time to finish the rhyme!"

While Tara went on to explain, Spike kept his eye on Drusilla.

"Well," Tara began.  "S-Spike and I did a little re-research last night.  I l-looked more into the Resurrection spell we did on Buffy."  Tara smiled a little and fidgeted.  "Unfortunately, the spell had a consequence, as is the case with most spells like this."

"What went wrong?" Willow squealed.  "I did everything I was supposed to!"

"A n-number of things, Willow.  She could have come back as a different person altogether, but luckily she didn't.  That was a known risk.  B-But you d-didn't get to fin-finish the spell."

"The spell wasn't finished?" Buffy asked incredulously.  "How did it even work at all?"

"W-Well, it was almost finished . . .close enough at least."

"Ok, so what's wrong then?" Xander asked.

"We got up to asking for her physical being.  Unfortunately, the end of the spell was a key point."

"That being . . .?" Dawn asked as Willow got a horrified look on her face.

"Buffy, w-we got you back, but your s-soul stayed behind."

"Oh goddess," Willow said faintly.

"Wh-what?" Buffy asked, a nervous smile playing on her lips.  "No, that can't be right.  I mean, that would make me evil, like a vampire."  She looked at the two vampires in front of her, confusion evident all over her face.  "No!  I'm not like them!  I'm not evil!"

Tara put her hand on Buffy's shoulder.  "It's true though.  You don't have a soul, but you're not evil," she said compassionately.

Drusilla sighed.  "The Slayer has so much to learn.  No, dearie, you aren't like my Spike.  He's more human than you are."  She grinned evilly.

Buffy shot an angered look at the vampire and tried to go after her, but Spike stopped her, forcing her to take his seat.  She gripped the edges of the table, her knuckles turning white.

"What does this mean?" Dawn asked.

"It means nothing!  I'm not soulless!  It's a mistake!" Buffy cried.  "I'm not evil!"

"Bloody hell!" Spike growled.  "You've got to learn a few things, pet!  Being soulless does not make a person evil, contrary to popular belief."

"You're evil!  You have no soul!" Buffy screamed.  Upset about her predicament and caught up in the moment, she got up and punched him.  He punched her back.

"Then how come I can do that, pet?"

"He lost his chip!  Why isn't anyone staking him?" Xander called out, turning the stake towards Spike.

"I still have my chip, whelp.  I can hit Buffy because she doesn't have a soul."

"But she's still human," Willow pointed out.

"Red, the thing that differentiates vampires from humans is a soul.  Well, actually, just a human soul.  That's why I can hit her.  She has no soul at all, not even a bleedin' human soul."

Buffy cried out and punched him again, wanting to leave the shop.  It was too much for her to take in.  "I'm not I evil!  I HAVE A SOUL!" she yelled.  She tried to run towards the door, but she found herself suddenly shoved into the chair and stuck in the seat.  She glared at Tara for using another spell on her.  Tara looked guilty, but shrugged her shoulders nonetheless.

"Angel has a human soul," Dawn said.  "How come you can hit him?"

"He's still a vampire, just one with a curse," he replied.

Tara cleared her throat.  Everyone turned their attention to her.

"I'll gladly explain this to you guys if you sit down," Tara said confidently.

The group, except for Spike and Drusilla, sat down.  Buffy, still seeing red, muttered obscenities under her breath, causing a few brief stares from the people sitting closest to her.

"Go on, Tara.  Tell them what you know," Spike said.

Tara took a deep breath.  "A soul," she started, "is what makes a person feel.  Buffy, you aren't too big with the emotions now.  Basically, you feel anger and frustration.  Those are pretty basic.  Love, happiness, sadness . . . those are more of a challenge because you can't really feel too deeply at the moment."

She paused for awhile, letting the explanation sink in thus far.

"So . . .anyways.  Vampires don't possess human souls.  Their demons, however, do have a soul of sorts.  Vampires, as well as other demons, can feel.  Spike and Drusilla have a soul."

"Just not nancy-boy souls," he once again reminded her.

"Thank you, Spike," she muttered.  "Buffy, you're not evil even though you don't have a soul.  You still have a conscience, you know the difference between right and wrong and it means something to you.  That is what vampires do not have though.  That is what makes them essentially evil, no remorse for killing someone.  Think of the thousands of humans with human souls though who commit hate crimes and murder every day.  Even though they have a soul, they are evil . . .pretty much.  They, most of the time, recognize the difference between right and wrong, but don't care."

Buffy narrowed her eyes and bit her lip.  What Tara said made perfect sense, she supposed.  Dammit!  Then she really did see love in Spike's eyes.  Things were sliding into place.  She sighed.  Then she noticed everyone was looking at her.  She really wanted her soul back.  She looked at Tara.

"Is there a way we can get my soul back?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, there is," Tara said, smiling at the Slayer.  "This has actually happened before."

Buffy stared at Tara quizzically.

"Oh, not to another Slayer, but a Watcher.  I had to dig pretty deep to find it.  The Slayer called her Watcher back through a Resurrection spell, and the Watcher came back without a soul."

"What happened?" Dawn asked.

"Well, strangely enough, they figured out how to get it back quite by luck, but it didn't elaborate on how they found it.  This particular Watcher had a vampire lover.  It happened back in the late 30's.  The Slayer didn't want a new Watcher.  So, anyway, they figured out a way to get his soul back.  The spell said that only a lover or faithful companion could retrieve the soul.  They didn't want to send the Slayer, knowing full well that as a human, she would not want to come back.  So, they sent his vampire lover.  They figured that being a demon and all would make things easier.  She successfully managed to retrieve the soul for him.  The only thing is . . ."

"Of course, there would be a catch," Buffy retorted, interrupting the witch.

"The only thing is, the vampire came back different.  She didn't want to kill anymore.  She avoided the Watcher she'd once fallen in love with.  Actually, she felt remorse for killing people.  She became skittish.  Her entire personality changed."

"She got her human soul back?  Kinda like Angel," Anya said, finally speaking up.

"Well, I don't know.  She seemed to have a soul, yes.  She was very sad.  I believe she ended up staking herself, out of desperation.  She said she missed Heaven.  That was the weird part.  You'd think that a demon like a vampire would want to get out of Heaven as soon as possible.  No one could actually ever explain what happened."

"That's really sad," Willow mumbled.

Everyone was silent.  They all looked around.

"So, uh, who's supposed to get your soul back, Buffy?" Xander asked.

"I am," Spike replied.

Buffy laughed humorlessly.  "Yeah, like I'll trust the fate of my soul to you."

"The spell calls for a trusted companion or lover though . . ." Tara began.

Buffy looked down.  Spike wasn't going to say it.  He was going to wait for Buffy.  

"Oh" was all she said.

"Should I call Angel?" Willow asked.

Spike suppressed a growl.  Buffy looked at him.  "No, Willow.  Don't call Angel.  It's too risky.  He'd want to stay."  She glared at the vampire.  "No worry of Spike wanting to stay."

"You got that right.  All those angels prancing around will make me want to heave."

"It wasn't a compliment, Spike," she said, emphasizing each word hatefully.

Spike walked away from the group for awhile.

"I can't believe I'm trusting my soul to Spike.  It's insane.  Kiss my soul goodbye."

"It's nice to know where I stand, Slayer," Spike replied, slight hurt evident in his voice.

Buffy flinched.  For some reason she felt guilty, but she quickly pushed that thought out of her head.

"Uh," Tara said again, "It has to be a lover or . . ."

Buffy sighed loudly.  She turned her head towards Spike.  He was looking at her peculiarly.  She frowned and covered her face with her hands.

Buffy got out of her chair and walked towards Spike.  She tilted her head.  "Would you really do this for me, Spike?" she whispered, searching his eyes carefully.

He nodded.  "Anything for you, Slayer," he said sincerely.  

She smiled slowly, deciding to trust him.  She turned to look at the group as her hand found Spike's.  "Spike qualifies," she said, trying to sound confident.  She faltered when no one said anything, but still managed to keep a smile on her face.

Everyone looked at her dumbfounded until the realization behind what she was actually saying hit them all.  Their looks varied from shock and surprise to despair, confusion, anger, annoyance, and amusement.  They looked back and forth at each other, but said nothing.  

The silence was suddenly interrupted by a short laugh and then a loud thud as Xander Harris passed out, his head hitting the floor.


	9. Getting Prepared

Title: Sweet William 

Author: Kelley (beanyb1999@hotmail.com)

Rating: Looks like PG-13 again.  Not too big on the naughty stuff.

Feedback: Yes, please!  I like feedback.  If you don't like the story though, please don't flame it.  It'll only make me cry…probably.  Maybe.  Don't really know.

Summary: Tara and Spike have figured out what is wrong with Buffy.  Tara is preparing the spell and Spike is getting ready to fix the problem.  Possible spoilers for season six, but I highly doubt this will happen.  Takes place after "Wrecked" or "Gone" (whichever).

Disclaimer:  The Almighty Joss owns everything.  Even Spike.  =(

Dedication: For Christy…she got better!  Yay!  Anyway, I just want to thank her again for all the help she has given me with this story.  For Shelley, the crackhead.  We're getting quite a bit of work done on our sequel to "I'll Most Likely Kill You In The Morning".  The sequel will be called "Camelot Is A Silly Place".  Anyway, read it if you feel like it.  It won't kill you…we hope.  For all the people who have reviewed my story with really nice comments.  I love you guys!  Shutting up now.

**********************************************************************

Everyone left the Magic Box in shock.  Tara had told them she needed to get the spell prepared, but she wouldn't be able to do it today.  

Buffy, Spike, and Drusilla stayed behind.

"Buffy's sleeping with Spike?" Xander asked, completely horrified, rubbing the knot on the back of his head.

"I can't believe it," Willow said.  "She didn't even tell anyone."

"Right now, I wish I didn't know.  That's disgusting.  I mean . . .Spike!  Eew!"  Xander shuddered.

"C'mon, Xander.  He's not that bad," Anya remarked.

"Yes, he is," Xander reiterated.

"Spike's cool," Dawn said.  "I mean, yeah, the situation is kinda weird and all, but Spike isn't like the others."

"She's right, Xander," Anya said, nodding.  "He won't leave Buffy."

"He won't leave her alone at all," Xander muttered.

"Do you really think Buffy is the victim here?" Dawn asked.  "I'm pretty sure their . . .relationship is mutual."

They continued to walk back to the Summer's house, bickering over the Spike-Buffy situation.  Anya had closed the shop for the day, reluctantly, at Tara's request.

*****

Tara stared at Buffy, Spike, and Drusilla.

"Tara, how long do you think it will take to prepare this?" Buffy asked.

"W-Well, I'm hoping it will be r-ready by tomorrow."

Drusilla laughed.  "Sweet William is prepared."

"Drusilla!  What are you talking about?" Spike asked, fed up.

She clucked her tongue at Spike.  "Naughty Spike.  I'm not going to ruin the surprise."

"Then stop bringing it up!"  Spike ran his fingers through his hair.  Truth be told, he was a nervous wreck, but he didn't want to let them know.

"Princess is hungry."

Spike closed his eyes.  "We'll deal with it later, Dru."

"This will definitely work, right?" Buffy asked nervously.

Tara nodded and looked at Spike.  "No reason why it shouldn't."

"Ok, just wondering."  Buffy sat down.

"Guys, you can leave.  I'll be working on this for awhile." 

"Are you sure you don't need us, Tara?"  Buffy raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah.  You're going to need plenty of rest.  You can't really work a spell like this if you're tired.  You need to be completely focused.  That way, it will work."  She smiled.

"Ok, well, I'm gonna go . . . somewhere," Buffy said.  She knew everyone would be at her house and she really did not feel like facing them at the moment.

"I'm going to get some sleep.  I'm pretty tired since I was so rudely awakened earlier," Spike said lightheartedly, looking at Buffy.  She glared at him.

"Drusilla, you go do whatever you were doing earlier," Spike mumbled.

"Miss Edith wants to have a tea party.  She told me that a blood bath would be a bad thing right now."

"Good for Miss Edith.  I'll see you to the sewer.  Can't have you harming Tara."

Drusilla laughed.  "I won't.  But, all right."

Drusilla and Spike walked off towards the sewers around the basement of the shop.  A moment later, Spike returned.

"Do you really trust her, Spike?" Buffy asked wearily.

"If not," Spike shrugged, "Tara's gone and done a protection spell.  She can't hurt anyone at the moment."

"How'd you do that?"  Buffy's eyes widened.  "And why can't we do that all the time?"

"It's complicated and wears off too quickly to be done over and over.  Plus, we don't want to worry about any freaky consequences from that spell."

Buffy and Spike nodded in agreement.  Spike grabbed his blanket.  Buffy opened the door and Spike ran out.  Buffy waved to Tara.  "Thank you."

"No problem, Buffy.  It's the least we can do."

Buffy left the store, letting the door close quietly behind her.  

Tara sighed.  This was going to be a long day.  She hoped to finish everything soon.


	10. Passing The Time

Title: Sweet William 

Author: Kelley (beanyb1999@hotmail.com)

Rating: Still seems like PG-13 to me.

Feedback:  I like feedback.  Please review!  It makes me a happy person.

Summary:  Spike and Tara figured out what was wrong with Buffy.  Spike gets to fix it now.  Possible spoilers for upcoming episodes, but I'm pretty sure this won't happen.  This is a S/B fic…cuz they're the best.

Disclaimer: Alas, I still own nothing.  Joss owns the whole kit and kaboodle.  Oh how I wish I could have Spike just for a little while though.

Dedication:  For Christy, of course, since she helps me with this.  For Shelley, the one who writes warped fanfic with me.  For Emily, who asked me why I haven't included her in a dedication yet.  I love you, Em!  For everyone who has reviewed this and said positive things.  I never expected to get such awesome reviews.  For James Marsters in hopes that he one day realizes that I'm the only girl for him…even if I have to kidnap him and make him eat his favorite foods all the time until he can't stand it any longer.  Of course, he'd probably be embarrassed by this sorry excuse for a fic.  I WANT SPIKE!

***********************************************************************

Buffy went to the park after leaving the Magic Box.  It seemed reasonable enough.  At least she wouldn't have to endure her friends questioning her like crazy.  She knew they'd ask her why.  She didn't know what to tell them.  She didn't even know why.

She sat on a swing, rocking herself back and forth.  She watched children playing and screaming, happy as can be.  Happy.  She wanted to feel happy again.

She sighed and got up.  The whole spell was making her nervous.  What if it didn't work?  It just has to!

She decided to leave the park.  Instead of going home, she headed towards Spike's crypt.  Once she got there, she knocked instead of kicking the door open.  She waited for a moment, then smacked her forehead because Spike was probably sleeping.  She turned to go when she heard the door open slightly.  She stopped walking, but didn't turn back around.

"What's wrong, Buffy?" Spike asked, concern in his voice.

She turned to face him.  He pulled the door open for her.  She shrugged and walked in.  

Aaaaah!  Buffy! she screamed to herself.  Spike wasn't wearing a shirt.  She looked away.  

Don't look!  Don't look!  She went and sat in front of his television, staring at the blank screen.  He couldn't help but smile.  He didn't mock her though.  She blinked rapidly, continuing to stare at the television, getting lost in the thoughts of what tomorrow could possibly bring.

"Buffy," Spike said, interrupting her thoughts.

She looked at him.  "What?"

"What's so interestin' on the telly?"

She smiled.  "It's a Wonderful Life."

He grinned.  "Nice movie.  What's troublin' you?"

"Spike, this spell . . . you'll get my soul back?"

"I promise, everything will be fine.  You'll get your soul back.."

"You'll bring it to me?"

"Of course."  He tilted his head, studying Buffy's face.

"O-Ok.  I hope it doesn't backfire."  She looked down at her lap, but then she looked back up at the vampire with what looked like trust in her eyes.

Spike caressed the side of her face.  "I'll make sure it won't."

"Can I just sit here for awhile?  Everyone is at my house.  I know they'll start asking the questions the second I walk in the door.  Please?  I won't bother you.  You can sleep."

Spike chuckled.  "Sure, Slayer.  I'll be back up later."  He winked.

"Thanks."  She glanced downward.

"Any time," he whispered.  He looked back once before going down the stairs.

Buffy leaned back and turned on the television.

After the sun set, Spike came back up.  The Slayer had his duster covering her up.

"You're going to give that back, right?"

She grinned.  "Maybe."

"You better.  I'm somewhat attached to it."

"I think I'm ready to go home now."

"All right.  I'll walk you."

"You don't . . ." she began.

"Slayer, don't argue with me."

"Ok."  She replied, not wanting to argue and got up, handing him his duster.

A short time later, they were at Buffy's house.  They'd walked over in relative silence, both thinking about the spell.  She opened the front door and he followed her in.  Dawn was sitting on the couch.

"Bout time you got back," she said sleepily.

"Where is everyone?" Buffy asked.

"Sent them home.  Didn't want them to hound you.  Willow's in bed."

"Oh."  She raised an eyebrow.  "Thanks."

"Hey, Nibblet."  

"Hey."  She motioned for Spike to sit on the couch next to her.  He did so.  They sat in awkward silence for a moment and Buffy went upstairs to do something.

"Spike, are you nervous about tomorrow?" Dawn asked suddenly.

"No.  Nah.  It'll be fine," he said, waving his hand about.

"Spike, you're a terrible liar."

"Ok, yes.  I'm nervous.  I just want it to work."

"Me too." She paused.  "Uh, Spike?  You're gonna come back, aren't you?"

"That's the plan, Lil Bit."

"No, I mean, you won't come back wrong?" she asked, worry etching her face.

"What fun would that be?  I couldn't bug you then."

"I'm serious!  I don't want you to change.  I don't want Buffy to get hurt."

"Nothing will change the way I feel about Buffy and nothing will keep me away.  I couldn't leave you two."

"Good.  I'm holding you to that," Dawn said, hitting Spike's arm.

He smiled, now more nervous than ever.


	11. The Champion

Title: Sweet William 

Author: Kelley (beanyb1999@hotmail.com)

Rating: PG-13…what else?

Feedback:  Yes, please!

Summary:  Tara and Spike have figured out what is wrong with Buffy.  Spike is about to fix it.  Possible spoilers for season six, but I doubt it.

Disclaimer:  Joss owns all.  I just want Spike.

Dedication: For Christy, my big helper in this.  For Shelley, co-author for other fics extraordinare.  For all my reviewers, thanks for the positive feedback.

*******************************************************************

Tara called everyone to the Magic Box at noon the next day.  Willow left before Buffy and Dawn.  Spike was there too.  Dawn had asked him to stay over.  Knowing she was scared, he agreed to and slept on the couch, first making sure the sun wasn't going to fry him in the morning.

Buffy was a nervous wreck.  She kept dropping things and couldn't even eat much.  Her dream had not helped matters either.  She'd spent the better part of her dream trying to find a way to get Spike across an invisible barrier.  When she woke up, she started to cry.  So, Spike had spent most of the morning trying to reassure Buffy that everything would be fine. 

Dawn spent most of the morning watching Spike.

*****

Willow was the first to arrive to the Magic Box.  Tara was looking over the spell.  She looked up at Willow and smiled.

"Hey, Tara," Willow said quietly.

"Hey," Tara responded shyly.

"So . . . uh . . . looks like you got everything ready," Willow said, looking at everything prepared.

"I-I guess."  Tara began fidgeting.

"You'll do fine.  I know you will."

"I h-hope so."  They were silent for a moment.

"Do you really need me here, Tara?" Willow finally asked.

Tara looked Willow in the eyes.  She nodded.  "I-I might need your help, as well as Anya's."

"Tara, are you sure?" Willow asked uneasily.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

Willow looked down at her shoes and then back up at Tara, but avoided her eyes.  "I'm really sorry I messed up the Resurrection spell.  I never meant for things to get so bad."

Tara put her hand on Willow's shoulder.  "I know."

The door to the shop opened and Xander and Anya walked in.

"So, we ready for some soul-giving fun?" Xander asked, rubbing his hands together.

"Xander, this isn't supposed to be fun," Anya scolded.

"Yes, Ahn.  I'm aware of that," Xander said tersely.  "Uh, where are Buffy and Spike?"

"Oh, they'll be here soon," Willow said.  "They're all a bit nervous which I can totally understand.  This is a big deal and all," Willow babbled.

Drusilla came out of the shadows, to the surprise of everyone else.

"Aaah!" Xander screamed in shock.  "Tara, did you call her?"

"N-No, I didn't know where she was."

"I came to look over my Spike today.  A little bird whispered in my ear.  Spike gets to play champion today.  They're waiting for him," Drusilla said, pleased.

"Who?" Anya asked.

"The bird told me not to tell," Drusilla giggled in response.

The door opened again.  

"Watch out!" Dawn hollered.

Spike raced through the door, blanket smoking.

Buffy came in behind him.  Her face was ashen.

"Bloody hell!"  Spike tossed the blanket to the ground.

"B-Buffy, you feeling all right?" Tara asked, quite concerned.

Buffy smiled weakly.  "I'm ok.  Just want to get the spell over with."

Xander suddenly spoke up.  "Is Spike our ONLY hope?  I mean, why can't me or Willow go?"

"Because, whelp, you'd not want to come back after being there," Spike replied irritably.

"What I don't understand is if they know a human would not want to come back, then why send one in the first place?  It's not that often you find a . . . pair like Spike and Buffy.  What gives?" Xander asked.

Tara sighed.  "Our case is unusual.  Generally, a human is the one that must go up and retrieve the soul, but this is still unusual anyway since it isn't often people are resurrected.  Anyhow, it's kinda like the ultimate sacrifice.  Go to Heaven to retrieve a soul.  Experience a moment of eternal happiness, but know you have to go back to Earth.  It's somewhat of a test of love too, I suppose.  Choosing to stay in Heaven is like failing the loved one who wants his or her soul back.  I don't really know much about it as I've never seen it done or never heard of it being done up until a couple of days ago.  I just know that Spike will be in Heaven, a place where his type of demon is not welcome.  I don't know what he will go through up there."

Everyone listened to Tara, trying to understand the spell.  They all hoped one of them could figure out the mystery of the last vampire/human couple this happened to.  They don't know why the vampire returned from Heaven different.  They could only guess she'd been given a soul by the Powers That Be as some sort of torture or punishment.

Tara cleared her throat.  "Well, now I'm going to explain what's going on.  The plane of existence we're about to send you to is only inhabited by spirits.  Therefore, we cannot open up a portal for your physical being to enter, so we are going to put you in a trance, or a deep sleep.  You will be comatose and may appear dead, but you will still be alive.  Both Spike and Buffy will go under, where her spirit will wait for her soul to be retrieved.  As for what you're going to experience Spike, I have no clue as I said before. Just do whatever you can."

Spike nodded gravely.  "I will," he whispered.

"Ok, so hold on."  Tara walked off to get the things they needed.

"Smile, Slayer.  You're about to get a soul!"

"Yeah, I'm about to get a soul," she repeated, her voice dead.

"Don't look so grim, luv."

"Don't come back wrong," Buffy commanded the vampire, not looking up at him.

He, on the other hand, stared at her.  She wanted him to return as the guy she loved to hate.  

He grabbed her hand in his and looked down at it, squeezing it tightly.  "Oh, I'm not going anywhere.  I plan on annoying you even more after this is all over."

Tara returned with two glasses.  "Y-You'll need to drink this.  It will induce the deep sleep." 

They both looked at the liquid in their glasses.  It smelled an awful lot like cough syrup.

Spike looked down at Buffy who was staring up at him.  He kissed her hand and smiled softly.  Unexpectedly, she wrapped one arm around Spike's neck and held on.  "Thank you.  Thank you."

"Er, you're welcome, Slayer."

"I'll be waiting for you," she whispered into his ear.

"Don't stop waiting either," he whispered back.

She let go of his neck.  Tara motioned for them to sit on the blankets she had spread out.  They sat and accepted the glasses from Tara.  "As soon as you drink, I'll start."

"Ready when you are, Slayer."

"On the count of three," Buffy replied.  She hesitated for a moment.  "One . . . two . . ." she sighed, " . . . three."

They both drank the potion in the glasses and immediately began to feel the effects.  They laid back on the blankets.  Suddenly, they were surrounded by darkness.


	12. Waiting

Title: Sweet William 

Author: Kelley (beanyb1999@hotmail.com)

Rating: PG-13…the language is a little more colorful, but it isn't quite up to the R rating status.

Feedback:  Yes.  I like feedback.  Throw me a review!  

Summary:  Spike and Tara have figured out what is wrong with Buffy and now Spike has begun the journey of fixing it.  Possible spoilers for season six.  

Disclaimer:  Still the same as all the others before.  Joss owns it all.  Spike is only mine in my dreams.  Of course, I wonder if I could get sued for that too.  

Dedication:  For Christy, the totally awesome helper of the story.  For Shelley, the one who writes warped Buffy-fics with me.  For all my reviewers, you guys are so awesome!  

A/N:  I don't know if I'll be able to update daily or not.  I try not to take more than a day, but sometimes it's unavoidable seeing as I have three English classes, two Theatre classes, a One Act festival, and about 30 books to read for class.  Someone have pity on me and pray that I don't lose my poor mind.

*********************************************************************

In the darkness, Buffy looked around.  There was nothing to be seen, just a black void of nothingness.

"S-Spike?" she called out.  

No answer.

She looked around more, on the verge of panic.

"Spike?  Where are you?"

"Right here, pet."

She squealed and turned around, having been taken by surprise by his sudden presence.  She was happy to see him.  Wherever they were, she didn't want to be alone.

"Where are we, Spike?" she whispered.

Spike looked around.  "I have no clue, Slayer."

Suddenly, it wasn't dark anymore.  They were in a room.  It looked like a waiting area, except there we no doors, no walls, no people, no magazines.  Just one chair.

Buffy looked up at Spike.  He shrugged.  "I guess this is where you wait, pet."

"Oh," she said softly.  "What do you do then?"

"Uh, wait?  I guess.  Sit yourself down, luv."

Buffy slowly made her way to the chair.  Wherever they were, it was definitely strange.  They were surrounded by a light blue color.  There was no real up or down to the place.  It was just there.  She sat down in the chair, staring at Spike the whole time.

"Ahem."  A voice came from the left of Buffy.  She looked over at the man who came out of nowhere.  He wasn't short, but he wasn't tall either and slightly overweight.  His hair was almost gone and he had little glasses which had small, light brown, yet beady eyes behind them.  He was holding a clipboard.  He appeared nervous and seemed to be quite afraid of Spike.  "Ah, William the Bloody?"

"That would be me, mate," Spike answered.

"Yes, yes, of course," the man nodded his head, nervously.

"You ok?" Buffy asked.

"Well, yes.  It's just unusual to bring a vampire up here, that's all."  The man smiled weakly.

"Uh, yes.  Can we get on with it?" Spike asked impatiently.

"I'm most terribly sorry.  We'll be getting started in a moment."  He looked down.  "William the Bloody will be retrieving the soul of one Buffy Summers, correct?"

"Seems that way, mate," Spike said evenly.

"O-ok.  Miss Summers, before we get started, I must tell you this.  Upon the return of your soul, any memories you have left of this place you spent a considerable amount of time will be completely erased."

"Wh-Why?" Buffy asked.

"The only way we feel you could feel truly happy is if you forget about spending time there."

"So, what does this mean?  What AM I going to remember?"

"Well, uh, nothing.  You'll remember being away.  You won't remember how happy you were.  It will be more of a void in your mind.  We believe it will make you happier in life."

"Oh great," Buffy mumbled.  "Whatever.  I just want my soul back."

The man smiled.  "Good.  We agree then."

"What do I do to pass the time?" Buffy questioned, annoyed.

"Don't worry.  This will seem like only a minute to you."  He winked.

Buffy raised an eyebrow.  "How long will it seem to Spike?"

"However long it takes," he simply replied.

"Bloody wonderful.  Well, let's get to it."

"Spike?" Buffy called out.  "Get my soul back.  Got it?"

He smiled.  "Don't worry, luv.  It's coming."

Buffy got up and hugged the vampire before he left.  After a minute, she let go and smiled, going back to her seat.

"Ready, Mister William?" the skittish man asked.

"Yeah," he grumbled.

"Come with me."

Spike took one last look at Buffy before following the man.

Buffy watched as the two disappeared.  She blinked and then sighed.

Spike suddenly found himself in a different area.  He scowled.  The place was bright, but not harsh brightness.  It was soft.  It appeared to be perfect.  He could sense the happiness and the peace.  It was all very serene and rather quiet.

Spike hated it.

He also knew he wasn't welcome.  He could sense it.

"William the Bloody, your guide will be here in a moment," the man said and then disappeared.

Spike scratched his head.

"Excuse me, sir," came a familiar voice from behind Spike.

Spike turned around and gasped in shock, stepping back.  He stared into the blue eyes that were staring right back at him.

"Bloody hell!"  He gaped at the man in front of him . . .

The man blinked in surprise.  "Could you tell me?  What rhymes with . . . effulgent?"

. . . the man he used to be.


	13. William vs. Spike

Title: Sweet William 

Author: Kelley (beanyb1999@hotmail.com)

Rating: Still PG-13

Feedback:  Please review!  I like it when people review!  It makes me happy.

Distribution:  Take it.  I don't care.  Just let me know.  Like you'd really want it anyway.

Summary:  Spike and Tara have figured out what is wrong with Buffy.  Spike is working to fix that problem at this very moment.  Possibly spoilers, but I doubt it.

Disclaimer:  They all belong to Joss, but Spike will be mine.

Dedication: For Christy, my helper.  For Shelley, my crackhead co-author.  For all my reviewers, thanks for the positive feedback.  You guys are awesome!

*********************************************************************

Spike stared wide-eyed, opening and closing his mouth, not sure what to say.

"What's wrong?  Didn't expect to see me?" William asked.

Spike shook his head.  What do you say to the person who is . . .well . . .you?

William's light brown hair was messy as usual, the curls having a mind of their own.

"Don't tell me that in the 120 plus years of being a vampire that you never found a word to rhyme with effulgent?"

"Well, er, no."  

Spike tilted his head.  William did the same.

Spike ran his fingers through his hair.  William did the same.

Spike glared and then rubbed his nose.  William did the same.

"Stop that you pillock!" Spike growled.

William grinned.

"When did you get a sense of humor, mate?" Spike asked.

"About 120 years ago.  What did you do to my hair?"

Spike narrowed his eyes.  "It's better than the mop on your head."

"My word.  You're quite rude," William scoffed.

"What can I say?  I'm bad.  I'm evil."  

William chuckled.  "And that chip in your head just does so much for your image."

"Hey!"  Spike stomped toward William.  "Watch it!"

"Or you'll what?  Bite me?" William asked, rolling his eyes.

Spike seethed.  For lack of a better comeback, Spike replied, "Yes."

"Oh, please.  You're not able to harm me."

Spike growled.  "Don't test me Wi . . .William."  Spike found it strange that he was essentially arguing with himself.

"You don't frighten me."

"Oh yeah?  Well, at least I'm not pathetic like you!"

"Is that so?" William challenged?  "You're in love with the Slayer!  She slays your type.  Remember?"

"What of it?" Spike asked impatiently.

"At least Cecily wasn't a Slayer.  And I used to be human . . .er, alive."

"Don't tell me you still have it for that stupid bint!"

"N-No!  I gave up on her after she told me I was beneath her!"

"Well, at least your brains are good.  Which is more than what I can say for your wardrobe."

"You're one to talk.  You lack color."

"I'm a big bad.  Pretty colors don't suit us."

William snorted.  "What is WITH the hair though?"

"I like it.  It makes me feel more . . .manly."

William nodded slowly.  "Right."

"Hey.  At least I don't write the bloody awful poetry anymore!"

It was William's turn to glare.  "You're still no better with the women either."

"Shut up!  I've had more women than you!"

"Drusilla, yes.  Crazy.  She kept talking to me while you all took your time trying to figure out what's wrong with Miss Summers."  

"Don't forget Harm . . .well, you can forget Harmony.  Don't forget.  I got Buffy."

"Quite right.  Do you enjoy the torture from her?  Is that why you keep going back for more?" William taunted.

"She keeps coming to me."

"So?  Tell her you're not going to take the torture anymore," William said tersely.

"Yeah, right.  Not bloody likely."

William shrugged.  "Ok.  At least you're persistent."

"Damn right, mate," Spike replied.

William got serious.  "So, we should get started.  You got to get a soul back."

"You're my guide?" Spike asked in surprise.

"Well, yes.  Funny, isn't it?"

"Yes.  Ironic.  My human soul leading me to Buffy's."

They began moving forward.  Spike followed William.

"Where are we going?" Spike asked.

"You have to pass the test, Sp-Spike.  What a silly name.  Anyway, I'm leading you to it."

"I have to pass a bloody test?" Spike asked, alarm in his voice.

"Yeah.  You have to prove you're worthy enough to retrieve the soul of the Slayer."

"And the fact that I love her so much isn't enough?"

"Apparently not.  You'll do fine though."

"Not if I have anything to say about it."

William and Spike both stopped and turned around.  They stood facing the brunette male who basically just challenged Spike.  William just stared while Spike glared.

"Bloody hell.  What are you doing up here, whelp?  Red?"

Xander and Willow stared at Spike, both with pissed off looks on their faces.


	14. Getting In The Way

Title: Sweet William 

Author: Kelley (beanyb1999@hotmail.com)

Rating: PG-13 or something like that.

Feedback:  I like feedback.  Please, feel free to comment.

Distribution:  Take it and put it somewhere if you want to.  Let me know first.

Summary:  Tara and Spike have figured out what is wrong with Buffy.  Spike is fixing it right now.  Possible season six spoilers, but not very likely.

Dedication:  For Christy, who is looking over every chapter and saying nice things about my story.  For Shelley, who writes fanfic with me (Kelley and Shelley).  For all my reviewers, thanks for the wonderful feedback!

***********************************************************************

Spike and William looked at each other.  Spike frowned while William just stood with a perplexed look on his face.

"What do you think you're doing, Spike?" Xander asked hatefully.

"I'm getting the Slayer's soul, whelp," Spike retorted.

"Do YOU really think YOU will be able to get Buffy's soul, Spike?" Willow asked with venom in her voice.

"Yes.  Yes, I do.  Now let me get to it."

"Spike, you're pathetic.  You know that?"

Spike turned and glared at the boy who never failed to cause him so much grief.

"Who are you to talk, Harris?"

"You'll never make it through here, Spike.  Just give up now."

Spike walked towards the redheaded witch.

"What are you two doing here?"

"There has been a change of plans," Willow replied.

"Is that so, ducks?"

"Yes.  You're going back.  We're going to do this journey together.  Me and Willow have known Buffy longer than you have," Xander rasped with a sneer.

"Sorry, I can't let you do that."

"Too bad.  Do you really think you have a chance with Buffy?"

Spike scowled.  "What's your bleedin' point?"

Suddenly, they found themselves in a nicely furnished room.  They heard two people talking and turned their heads.  It was William and Cecily.

Spike stared at the scene he knew all too well.  He bowed his head.

"Bad moment, huh, Spike?" Xander asked with a smile on his face.

Spike ignored him.  He listened for the earth shattering, heart breaking words he knew were about to come out of Cecily's mouth.

"You're beneath me," Cecily stated with an air of superiority.  

Spike watched as Cecily left the room.  He watched William, who had started to cry, devastated.  He watched William run from the room, the large mansion, and outside to his inevitable death, and his beginning as a vampire.

Willow and Xander laughed loudly at William's expense, much to Spike's embarrassment.

"You've always been pathetic, Spike," Willow said between cackles.

"Why are you showing me this?" Spike asked, feeling utterly depressed.  This was not how he wanted to start out.

"To show you the awful truth about yourself," Xander remarked.

Spike turned his head to William.  William appeared to be unphased.

"Aren't you upset about this?" Spike whispered to his human counterpart.

William smiled.  "That's all in the past.  I've been here in Heaven for 120 years.  I've been happy.  When you're up here, it's hard to get down on yourself."

Spike furrowed his brow, thinking about what William had just said.

"Spike, face it.  You're beneath Buffy.  If she was in her right mind even she would recognize that," Xander said spitefully.

"Yeah, Spike.  Think of it this way.  If Buffy gets her soul back, she'll become her old self and forget about the pathetic loser that you are.  Do you really want that?  If you stop now, you won't have to worry about that and you will be the Big Bad again rather than the Slayer's lapdog."

Spike shook his head.  "Be quiet," he whispered with a shaky voice.

Xander and Willow continued to taunt him.  "You're beneath her!  She'll never give you a chance, especially with her soul.  You're a pathetic excuse for a vampire!"

Spike covered his ears.  "Be quiet!  Now!"  He blinked back the tears that were threatening to spill.

Suddenly, he let go of his ears.  "You two don't belong here!  Get out of my way!  I made a promise to the Slayer and nothing is going to stand in my way.  Damn the consequences!  Maybe I never will have a chance with her, but I DO love her!  Now get away from me!"

Xander and Willow's taunting faces suddenly disappeared.

Spike slowly turned to face William.

"What the hell?"

William smiled at Spike.  "You did well.  You stood up to them even though they tried to break you down."

"Was that the test?"

"There was a possibility of truth in what they said," William replied cryptically.

Spike frowned.  "Great.  I hate cryptics!  Could barely understand Dru when she spoke and Peaches never makes any sense when he's all soul-having."

"It's time to continue, Spike.  The Slayer is waiting.  The test must still be taken."

"William, can't you tell me what to expect?"

William raised an eyebrow at Spike.  "I know nothing more than you do about the test."

"What?  You don't know anything?"

"No, I just start going.  The test is supposed to find us."

"Well, some guide you are," Spike muttered.

"Be quiet.  We must be moving along."  He started forward with Spike following closely behind.  They were walking through the soft yellow light again.

"Spike, wait!"

Spike stopped walking and spun around.  "Nibblet?  What are you doing here?"

Dawn ran up to Spike and hugged him.  "Spike, I'm afraid."

"Afraid of what, Lil Bit?" Spike asked, stroking the teenager's brown hair fondly.

"What if you come back wrong?" she asked with a shaky voice.

"Dawn, I told you everything will be fine."

"Be careful.  I want the old Buffy to come back.  I miss my sister."

"I know, Platelet, and I'm working on it."

"Spike, what if it doesn't work?"

"It WILL work.  But I need to get going to get the job done."

Dawn hugged him again.  "Spike, come back with me."

"What?"  He pulled Dawn off him and looked her in the eye.

"We need you to protect us down there too.  What if something happens again?  I can't lose you!  I can't lose Buffy!  Please come back.  We'll send Angel," Dawn cried pleadingly.

"Angel?!" Spike growled.

"Well, he is Buffy's first love," Dawn replied meekly.

"Angelus can sod off.  This is MY job.  Got it?"

"If you come back wrong, you'll end up letting us all down.  You won't be able to protect Buffy or me.  That can't happen."

"And it won't happen!" Spike said reassuringly.

"You're scared to death that it will happen!  C'mon, Spike!"

Spike regarded Dawn.  He really was afraid he'd end up coming back wrong, but he still had to try to get Buffy's soul.  He was not going to let anyone stand in his way.

"Dawn, I'm staying here.  I have to do this for Buffy.  I promised her," he said softly.

"You promised me too, Spike.  You promised you would come back right.  I don't want to risk it."

"Sorry, Dawn.  You need to go now."  Spike gave her a slight push backwards.

Dawn glared in anger.  Her nature completely changed.  "Willow and Xander are right.  You really are pathetic," she retorted with the same contempt that had existed in Xander's voice moments ago.

Spike grimaced at Dawn's sour words.  She disappeared with those words still ringing in his ear.

William cleared his throat.  Spike turned his head to his human self.

"Another possibility of truth, right?"

William nodded.

Spike frowned.  "Why am I doing this?  They're right.  I'll never pass this test.  Maybe someone else should be doing this.  I'm beneath her anyway."

William stared at the vampire, horrified.  "Very well, then."

Spike looked at William, and then quickly averted his eyes from him.


	15. True Love

Title: Sweet William 

Author: Kelley (beanyb1999@hotmail.com)

Rating:  Still looks like a PG-13 to me!

Feedback:  Please REVIEW!  I want to know what you think.  Just don't flame it if you hate it.  It'll probably make me cry like a baby.  Well, maybe not, but it will depress me.

Distribution:  You want to put it on your site!  Let me know!  I'll me more than happy to let you!

Summary:  Spike and Tara have figured out what is wrong with Buffy.  Now Spike is fixing the problem.

Disclaimer:  All characters from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, UPN, all those other people who make their mark during the credits…yadda yadda yadda.  I wish they'd let me have Spike at least.

Dedication:  For Christy, as always, because she makes wonderful suggestions and keeps encouraging me to post even though I feel like my story gets worse and worse.  For Shelley, because she writes warped fanfic with me, and because she has to live with me.  I feel for her.  For all my reviewers who have told me positive things, I love you guys!  You make it easier for me to post a new chapter when I get the chance!

**********************************************************************

"Look at me, Spike."  William waited.  "NOW!"

Spike eyed William, shocked at his tone of voice.

"What's wrong with you?" William snapped.

"You heard them.  They're all right.  I should not be the one doing this."

If looks could kill, Spike would have been dust at that moment.  He had never seen such shame and anger coming from someone's eyes, especially from the eyes of someone he had once been.

"If you quit now, you're not the vampire I thought you were.  You're just as pathetic as they tell you you are."

Spike stood up taller, glowering at William.  "Look, you try dealin' with those people every day.  They hate me.  Buffy knows that."

"Do you love her?"

Spike rolled his eyes.  "What?!"

"DO…YOU…LOVE…HER?" William asked more slowly this time.

"Yes.  More than I can say.  How many bloody times do I have to say it?"

"Then why are you letting her little sister and her little friends get to you like that?  They usually don't."

Spike shrugged.  "I don't know."

"Look.  Look around you.  This is Heaven.  Heaven doesn't have a place for vampires.  You're in a weakened state, which makes it easier for you to succumb to things you would normally shrug off.  They, the Powers, fixed it that way.  But, you have a soul to save.  Now, get over yourself.  A beautiful woman is waiting for you."

"I don't know why you asked me what my problem was if you knew it all along," Spike mumbled quietly.  He shook his head.  Then he smacked his forehead, suddenly feeling as though some thick fog had been cleared from his head.  "Buffy!"  He glanced at William.  "Well, mate.  What are we waiting for?  Let's go!"

Spike grabbed William's arm and continued forward yet again.

Spike was suddenly consumed in thought.  _No one ever said anything about my defenses being down, or whatever.  I can't believe I let the whelp get to me.  I'll show him a thing or two when I get back.  What are they doing to me?  Are they trying to turn me into a poofter nancy boy?_

"The Powers knows your strengths and weaknesses.  By messing with your emotional state, they can see how strong you are mentally against those that cause a stumbling block in your life . . .or unlife in your case."

"What?"  William had successfully managed to confuse Spike even more.

"So, yes, in a way, I suppose they are trying to turn you into a . . .er, nancy boy," William simply replied.

"Wait.  So now you can read my mind?"  Spike shook his head in confusion.

William smiled.  "Perhaps.  But you were talking to yourself.  Maybe you should try working on the whole concept of an inner monologue.  Make it a tad more quiet."

"Yeah.  I'll bloody well try," Spike grumbled.

"Cheer up.  We're getting there," William stated cheerfully.

"Spike, I can't let you do this," came a voice from behind.

"Oh, bloody hell!" Spike growled.  "Now what?"  He spun around.

"You don't belong here."

Spike rolled his eyes.

"Neither do you.  Get the hell away from me, Peaches!"

Angel walked slowly towards Spike.  "You're being replaced."

Spike sighed.  "Blah blah blah.  Don't count on it, Angelus!"

Angel chuckled wryly.  "You need help, boy.  I'm the better one for this job."

"Says you, poofter.  I can't have you messing up your hair.  Now, bugger off."

"So, Spike thinks he loves Buffy," Angel said with a menacing taunt.

"This is just like you!  The Dark Avenger thinks he's here to save the day.  Well, not this time!  The Slayer is counting on me."

Spike kept his eyes on Angel.

"Spike, my boy, you'll always be second best to Buffy.  She loved me first.  Remember?"  He smiled at the blonde vampire smugly.

"Yeah.  Well also remember this you big poof!  You're the one who left her!"  Spike balled his fists.

"So, you think you're the hero of this little episode of Buffy's life.  You're the one who's there.  Sorry to say, Spike, but you are just a convenience."

"Oh, is that bloody well so?"

Angel chuckled in a low voice.  "You'll do well to remember this, my boy."  He walked dangerously close to an angry Spike and whispered in his ear.  "You may be the one she's having casual sex with, but I'm the one she made love to."  He took a step back and continued to laugh.  "You will always be second best.  Just let me finish this little journey for you.  I'm the one she'll always turn to."

Spike stared down the vampire.  After a moment, Spike began to falter.  The pain he was feeling on the inside was almost too much for him.  

Did Buffy really just see him as a convenience?  She'd told him as much recently.  But what about now?  

He shut his eyes tightly and shook his head quickly, remembering what William had told him earlier.  Then he remembered another thing William had told him even earlier than that.

Spike opened his eyes and turned his eyes towards William.  William was staring at Angel, but he showed no distress.

Buffy was still waiting.

He grinned, realizing William had given him a clue without actually realizing it was a clue . . .or he guessed it was that way at least.

Why didn't he think of it then?  Of course!

William had told him that there was a possibility of truth behind the things Xander and Willow, Dawn, and Angel had all told him.

This was THE test!  Of course!  It was SO obvious!

If, after listening to the awful things Xander and Willow had said, or Dawn, or Angel, he decided to go back, he really would be pathetic.

He'd be beneath Buffy.  

He would have failed her.

Buffy would never forgive him.

He tilted his head and grinned at Angel.  "Go away, poofter.  You're not even really here."

Angel stopped laughing.  He had a puzzled look on his face.

"That's right, Peaches.  Except you're not really Peaches.  Wanna know how I know?  That bloody soul!  A moment of true happiness . . . and BAM!"  He clapped his hands in Angel's face.  "You've got one cruel vampire on your hands!  Buffy didn't want to call Angel anyway because she trusts me!  I knew this wasn't real when the Mighty Poofter made his entrance.  THIS is Heaven!  What human would want to leave here?  So, I'd like to get Buffy's soul back if you don't mind."

Suddenly, Angel disappeared and a new form took his place.

"That's more like it.  So, who in the bloody hell are you?"

"I'm the Keeper of Buffy's soul," the form replied, changing yet again.

"Hey!  You're the bloke who brought me in here!"

The man nodded.  "Yes indeed."

"Why didn't you just give me her soul then?" Spike asked irritably.

"Because you had to be tested first." 

The man fidgeted.  Spike could sense he was nervous about something.

"Oh, right.  Well, I passed.  Give me the soul and I'll be on my way."  Spike started to walk towards the man but stopped when the man held up a hand for him to do so.

"Terribly s-sorry," the man said.  "I can't."

"What?" Spike yelled.  "Why not?"

"I d-don't h-have it," the man said, stumbling over his words.

"WHAT?????" Spike's voice boomed, alarming even William.


	16. It Gets Worse

Title: Sweet William

Author: Kelley (beanyb1999@hotmail.com)

Rating:  How does PG-13 sound?

Distribution:  You want it?  Really?  Let me know first.

Feedback:  Please send feedback!  I LIKE feedback!  

Summary:  Spike and Tara figured out what was wrong with Buffy.  Spike is trying to fix it.  No spoilers really.

Disclaimer:  They all belong to Joss…except for Spike.  He will be mine.  SOON.

Dedication:  For Christy, who helped me fix this chapter.  For Shelley, fellow actress and fanfiction writing friend.  For everyone who has reviewed and said nice things (which is really everyone), thank you so much!

A/N:  We just had auditions for "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and we're supposed to find out tomorrow who got cast as whom.  I read for Helena three times, Hippolyta twice, and Hermia once.  Wish me luck, or that I break a leg, or something.  Whatever!  Hehe.

*********************************************************************

The man jumped back.  "I don't have it," he repeated.

"I heard you!"  Spike began to pace.  "So, where is it?"

"The Slayer has it," came an entirely different voice, or set of voices.

Spike stopped pacing.  Three new figures entered the picture.

"The Slayer has it?" Spike asked in shock.

Spike eyed the three forms carefully. They stood in a triangular form.  The point of the triangle was a female with bright red, curly hair.  To her left stood another woman with long brown, straight hair, but she had the same face as the other.  To her right was a girl with bright blonde hair, her face also the same as the other two.  They spoke in unison.

"The Slayer is in possession of her soul again."

"What?  When?  What?"  Spike mentally slapped himself for the loss of any coherent thought.

"Wonderful questions," William whispered to Spike uneasily.

"We understand your surprise."

"Ah, well I'm glad to know that," Spike muttered sarcastically.

"When did she get her soul back?" William asked.

"The moment the test was passed."

Spike rolled his eyes and William frowned.

"So what just happened here?" Spike asked.

The three women smiled.  "Spike was sent to retrieve the soul of one Buffy Summers.  William was sent as a guide.  You began the test…"

"Yeah, yeah.  I got all that," Spike said with a wave of his hand.  "The whole point was for me to retrieve her soul and take it back to her.  I'm not seeing any soul here or any taking back of the soul to her.  Why this particular test?"

"To test your strength and weaknesses, Vampire.  The last vampire who wanted to retrieve a soul ended up quitting because she was too weak, and we didn't even test her in the same manner."

"Will you bloody quit talkin' like that?" Spike asked impatiently.

"Like what?" they chorused.

"Like that! At the same time!  It's bloody irritatin'!" Spike hollered.  Worry was working its way into his head and he couldn't quite figure out why.

The three women looked at Spike, undaunted by his attitude.

"So, let me get this straight.  I took this test to get her soul back, but in a way I was proving myself to her?  Is it not enough that I love her and would do anything for her?"

"Quitting would have made you pathetic," they replied.

Spike snorted.  "Wow, it's not as though I haven't heard that enough lately."

"She quit?" William asked quietly.  "What happened?"

Spike looked at William and blinked, forgetting what William was talking about.  Then he remembered.

"She couldn't handle the outcome."

"What was the outcome?" Spike asked.

"Eternal hell."

Both Spike and William remained silent for a moment.  They looked at each other, both expressing confusion and not knowing what was really happening.

"So, I passed the test.  That's good.  I'm not weak.  Right?"

"No, Vampire.  You're not weak."

Spike sighed in relief.  

"The Slayer is waking up now.  We must work fast," the women said with urgency in their voices.  

Spike rubbed his hands together.  "Now you're talkin'."

"William?" the three women called out. 

Spike looked at William.  William stepped up next to Spike.

"It's time to send you back," they said.

"It's 'bout damn time," Spike said loudly.

"You misunderstand us, Vampire.  We're not sending you back.  We're sending William back."

"What?" Vampire and Human asked in unison.

"We're giving William a second chance at life.  He's going back to his former body."

"Excuse me," William said, stepping forward.

"You're sending HIM back?" Spike asked incredulously.

"Yes.  He's getting another chance."

"Well, where am I going then?"  

"To hell," they replied simply.

"But I passed the bloody test!" Spike hollered.  "Remember?  I'm not weak!  I continued onwards even though you tempted me with foul words and awful memories to see if I could keep on going."  Spike stopped talking.  He'd just channeled his inner poet…well almost.  His poetry was still no good. 

"You aren't weak.  We cannot simply let a vampire come here and let him go back to a realm where he is considered the enemy."

"Then why did you make me take the test anyway?  I mean, if you had planned all along to send me to hell, why didn't you just zap me there right away and send William in my place instead?"

"Vampire, you have proved yourself strong.  You work with those who kill your kind day in and day out.  We believe that the strength you possess now will help you while you're in hell.  One day you may even be able to find your way out and back to Earth.  You must go where you belong."

"What good will that do?" Spike asked.

"We'll be sending a demon to hell and a human back to the body he was robbed of."

Spike looked over at William and glared.

"I'd much rather stay here," William replied.  "I'm happy here."

"We must send you back, William.  The Slayer deserves your goodness."

"But I'm not in love with her.  Spike is," William said, pointing his thumb towards Spike.

"Why do you get to decide anyway?" Spike spat.  "Who are you?"

"We are the Powers That Be," they answered.

For some reason, Spike had always thought they looked different.  Oh well.  He still hated them.  "Well, ain't that grand?"  

William sighed.  Thoughts began pouring through Spike's head.

"We must work now.  William, you're going to live again while the evil demon that has been inhabiting your body will be sent straight to hell."

"I," he said, emphasizing the word I, "passed the test!" he reminded them.

"Yes, you did.  With William's help.  William is now getting his second chance."

"Second chance, eh?" Spike said, turning to William.

"I had no clue this was to happen.  I can't say I'm exactly thrilled about it," William said softly.

"There should have been a warning label on this bloody spell," Spike muttered, angry about the entire mess this had caused.  He knew this could have somehow been avoided.  He turned his head to the Powers That Be.  "You birds are really screwed up."

"We don't have much time.  William, you must get ready."

For the first time since Spike had arrived up there, William began to look worried.

"It's time to begin . . ." they began in unison.

Spike quickly glanced at William before snapping his head back towards the Powers That Be.  His patience was gone and he was quickly becoming outraged.  He just hoped that he could come up with a plan before it was too late.


	17. Here And There

Title: Sweet William 

Author: Kelley (beanyb1999@hotmail.com)

Rating:  PG-13 I guess

Feedback:  Please send mucho feedback!

Distribution:  You want it?  You really want it?  Heh.  Take it.  Just let me know first.

Summary:  Spike and Tara figured out what was wrong with Buffy.  Spike is working on fixing it right now.  Chaos has ensued.  Damn the PTB!

Disclaimer:  They belong to Joss.  Spike is mine.  ALL MINE!

Dedication:  For Christy, just cuz she has been helping me fix this story.  For Shelley, because she's Shelley (I live with her and she's a RA, so I need to be nice to her hehe).  For all my great reviewers, you guys have made me feel better about my story.  Thanks!  I love you guys!

A/N: I wanted to freakin' post this chapter last night, but ff.net was being weird and I was just now finally able to get back on.  Does anyone know what was up with that?  

**********************************************************************

Buffy's eyes fluttered open and she immediately recognized the faces of her friends.  She smiled.

"Welcome back, Buff!"  Xander helped her sit up.

"Thanks, guys."

Buffy turned her head towards Spike who had still not woken up.

"Shouldn't he be waking up now?" Buffy asked.

"I-I thought so," Tara replied.

Buffy furrowed her brow.  "Why hasn't he?"

"I'm not really sure."  Tara sighed, exhaustion evident in her voice.

*****

"You bints are bloody irritatin'!" Spike snapped.

The three women blinked, shocked expressions on their faces.

"We must send William back soon or else . . ."

"No we mustn't," William interrupted.  "You must be off your rocker if you think I'm going back!"

Spike looked at William, surprised yet proud of William's little outburst.  He turned back to the three women and nodded defiantly.

"Yeah!  So I think you better come up with a new plan, pet . . ." he frowned " . . .s."

William looked at Spike and quirked his eyebrow.  Spike shrugged.

"Right," William began.  "We're going to do things our way."

*****

"Buffy, how are you?" Dawn asked with worry etching her face.

"Fine," Buffy muttered.

"You don't sound fine," Anya blurted out.

"Ahn!" Xander cried.  "She just woke up!"

"What was it like?" Willow asked in wonderment.

Buffy frowned.  "Well, uh, I sat and waited and then a minute later here I am. It wasn't exciting.  Um . . ."

"What happened?" Dawn interrupted.

Buffy shot a concerned glance in Spike's direction.  _Why isn't he waking up?_ Buffy thought.  "I waited," she murmured.

"Do you feel any different?" Willow asked with hope in her voice.

Buffy smiled sheepishly.  "Yeah," she lied.  Well, it wasn't a complete lie.  She felt something, she knew her soul was intact.  She was happy about that.  She'd feel better once Spike woke up though.  That was it.

"So was it weird up there?" Dawn asked.

"I don't really remember much except for watching Spike go.  Why isn't he waking up?"  Her heart began pounding with worry.  He looked peaceful.  Well . . . kind of.

"My Spike is dead to the world," Drusilla chimed in.

She'd been surprisingly quiet the whole time, so everyone was surprised when she spoke having forgotten she was there.

"Huh?" Dawn squeaked.

Willow caught Tara, who had just passed out from exhaustion.

"Wh-What do we do now?" Willow questioned nervously.

She wanted to avoid doing any magic, but with Tara out, she wasn't sure if that was possible.  She only hoped that Tara would understand.

"Poor Spike.  He's all caught up right now," Drusilla sang.

"What do you mean?"  Dawn paled.

"Whoa!" Xander yelled, jumping up and catching the attention of everyone else.  He stared down at Spike's still form and gaped.  "Did anyone else see that?"

*****

The three women tilted their heads all in the same direction and, of course, in unison at the Vampire and the Human.  They, for the first time, began to falter, however quickly regaining their composure.

"We're running short of time.  You don't understand."

"Oh, I think we bloody well understand what you crazy birds are up to," Spike replied rudely.

"We can't send a vampire back to the dimension from which it came.  We're supposed to send them straight to hell.  We will send William in your place."

William cleared his throat.  "I fail to understand your logic!  Since you say you can't send Spike back, I suppose I'm the consolation, right?  You're completely batty if you think you're doing the right thing!"

Spike smiled.  William finally got some stones.

"We can't just let the vampire go.  It's against the rules."

"Well, screw the bloody rules!  I want to be returned to my body!"

"That's impossible," they replied in unison, their voices beginning to show hints of irritation.

"If there is one thing I've learned, nothing's impossible," Spike began.  "I'm in love with the Slayer.  I help her sodding friends and I'm crazy about her kid sis.  Don't talk to me about impossible!  Send me back now!"

The three just stared at him.

"I'm perfectly happy here.  I don't want to have a second chance at life.  Let him do it!  I'm staying here.  I'll find a way to get back here as soon as possible!  I'll live a meaningless existence if you do this to me.  I will do nothing to fight evil!  Spike is in love with Buffy.  I'm not!  Bend the rule!" William commanded.  He sounded like he was about to go over the edge.

"We must carry out the original plan, no matter what."

Spike growled, slipping into game face for the first time since getting there.  He stood as tall as he could and then prepared for a fight.

"You stupid . . . bloody . . . bitches!  Aaaaah!"

The Powers That Be gasped in unison and were unable to react fast enough.  The red-head at the point of the triangle was tackled which, strangely enough, caused the other two to fly back as well.

"Ok, that was unexpected.  This is just . . .neat."  

Spike slipped out of game face.  He began to laugh out loud at the situation.  

Never, in all his years of being undead, did he ever imagine that William, Bloody Awful Poet, would become so enraged that he would tackle and start mercilessly beating three higher powers.

He relaxed a bit in stunned amusement as the red-head dodged slaps and punches while William sat on top of her, holding her down.


	18. Spike And William Strike Back

Title: Sweet William 

Author:  Kelley (beanyb1999@hotmail.com)

Rating:  PG-13 I think.

Feedback:  Yes, please!

Distribution:  You want it?  Let me know.  

Summary:  Spike and Tara figured out what was wrong with Buffy.  Spike is trying to fix it right now.  Wackiness has ensued.  Takes place after "Wrecked" or "Gone."

Disclaimer:  Joss still owns them all.  I'll have Spike one day dammit!

Dedication:  For Christy, because she helped me so much with this.  For Shelley, because she writes fanfic with me.  For all my excellent reviewers, I love you guys!!!!

NOTE:  **Bold type** represents Willow's voice and _Italic type_ represents Spike's and William's voices.  

Note the Second:  I'm taking a break from studying for a Theatre History test at the moment.  I think I'm going to end up failing it anyway.  Pray for my sanity.

***********************************************************************

"This is better than anything I've ever witnessed in Sunnyhell," Spike chuckled quietly to himself.

He decided to get involved in the action when William was propelled off the red-head he had pinned down.  Slipping into game face, he went and grabbed the red-head from behind, pleased he still seemed to have vampire strength, even in the state he was in.  He held her arms down at her side.  

The other two whimpered.

Spike grabbed the red-head's hair and bared her neck to him.

"That's it!  I'm sick of arguing.  It's time for a compromise.  If you don't play fair, we don't play fair!"  He roughly turned around to face the sister powers.  "This, ladies, is a hostage situation.  If you don't work with us, I'll drain this bird."

The two free powers were now afraid of Spike.  This only puzzled the vampire because he thought the PTB had supreme control.  He knew he couldn't really hurt them.

William walked next to Spike.  He smiled wryly.

"Obviously, we seem to find ourselves in an unpleasant situation."

He coughed and looked at Spike, frowning.  Despite William's appearance of disapproval, Spike could see the amused look in William's eyes.  He still held on to his hostage.

"So," William began.  "Are we ready to strike a deal?"

None of the powers moved, so Spike forcefully nodded the head of the one in his arms.

"Ow!"  She glared at him.

A small smile played on his lips.

"This isn't good karma, Vampire," she said.

At least they weren't talking in unison now.  "Yeah, well I never claimed to be good, pet."

"Well, I believe we are ready to talk now," William said with a clap of his hands.

******

"Did anyone see that?" Xander asked again.

"See what, honey?"  Anya looked at her fiancé.  "Are you feeling all right?  I've read that stressful situations can sometimes cause a person to see things."

Xander blinked, still staring at Spike.

"I . . . He . . . There was . . . "

"What?" Buffy asked, frowning still.

"He . . . he, uh, flick-flickered," Xander stuttered.

"Flickered?" Dawn asked, a look of terror and worry and amazement and disbelief all playing on her face at once.

Xander wrinkled his forehead and shook the thought away from his brain.  "I guess I'm just tired."

Everyone nodded compassionately.

"Willow, can you find out what's going on?" Buffy asked very businesslike.

"OH!  The Powers are being disrupted!  There's so much chaos!" Drusilla wailed, falling to her knees.  She still managed to seem fascinated by this.

"Wh-What is she talking about, Buffy?"  Dawn looked at her sister.

Buffy shrugged.  "Like I understand her ramblings!"

"Sweet William!  Naughty Spike!  Working together!"

"Uh, Willow.  Some help would be good," Buffy whispered loudly.

"Oh goddess.  I, uh, oh goddess.  Think, Willow, think!"

"Ack!  He flickered again!" Xander cried after a girly yelp.  "I'm not imagining things!"

Buffy and Dawn hurried to get next to Xander.  They looked closely at the vampire.  Nothing happened.

"Xander, what are you talking about?" Buffy asked, still waiting to see if anything happened.

"It's true," Anya said.  "Spike flickered.  I saw it too."  She nodded at the two sisters.

Then Buffy saw it.  He flickered.  It was like watching a light bulb before it burned out completely.  Buffy bit her lip.  That whole light bulb analogy was good, but Spike burning out was definitely not of the good.

"What's with the flickering?  What's happening?"  Buffy placed her hand on Spike's cheek.  He was still there.

"There's nothing inhabiting the body," Anya stated.

Everyone turned to her for an explanation.

She sighed.  "Ok, the demon is not in the body.  There is no spirit, no soul . . . just an empty vessel.  The body actually died 121 years ago.  So, really, the body should be long gone.  Without a spiritual presence or anything, it will simply disappear, like it's starting to do now.  If it is not reclaimed soon, it will die and Spike's demon will go right to hell.  It will be like he never existed."

Buffy's eyes grew wide as saucers.  "Never existed?"

"Well, kinda," she said.  "You'll eventually forget he ever existed in your life.  He'll become a forgotten memory."

  
"How do you know this?" Dawn asked uneasily.

"I've been around for a long time.  I pick up things."

Everyone looked at Spike worriedly.

"Willow, figure out where Spike is.  Can you do the telephone thingie to talk to him?" Buffy asked in a distracted tone.

"Telephone?  Oh!  Telepathy, you mean!  I can try.  It will take me awhile."

Willow laid Tara down gently then went and sat next to Spike.  She grabbed his hand, hoping his body would still be able to trace his presence.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and concentrated, determined to save the bleached wonder, for Buffy's sake.

*****

The red-head struggled in Spike's arms.

"You do realize that if someone does not go back soon . . ."

Spike interrupted.  "A quick deal and I won't drain you."

"You can't harm us, Vampire."  She finally broke free of his grasp.

William sighed and bowed his head.

Spike?  Are you there? 

Spike looked around for the new voice before he realized it was in his head.  William looked perplexed.

_Hey, Willow!  I'm stuck in this . . . place!_

_Uh, hi.  Who is this?_

Back in the Magic Box, Willow jumped.  "Aaah!"  Two voices responded at once.

"What?  What?"  Buffy was about to pounce on the witch.

Willow shook her head quickly.

**Spike, what's going on?**

_Red, we're having problems._

_Who is this?_

Willow tilted her head and narrowed her eyes.

**Who am I talking to?**

_Spike._

_William._

The Powers That Be watched William and Spike.  They seemed to be lost in thought.

"What?  William?"  Willow raised her eyebrows.

Drusilla clapped.  "William and Spike . . .creating havoc!"

**Guys, what is going on?**

_Red, it's kinda  . . .well, not a good time._

_Lady, we're having problems with the Powers._

**What kind?  Why are you still stuck up there?**

_The bloody bints are trying to send me to hell!_

_They want to send me back!_

**Whoa there!  Hold on!  Ok, uh, Spike, what?**

_They're trying to keep me from going back, Red!_

**What's William doing with you?**

The Powers are trying to send me back to my body.  They think I want a second chance at life!

**Well, you need to get back fast.  Spike, your body is flickering!**

Come again?  Flickering?

The Powers began circling to two men.

Anya says that if someone does not inhabit the body soon, it will cease to exist.  Hurry up!

_Willow, I'm trying!_

_Yes, they are being quite difficult!_

**Well, think of something fast!  You don't have much time!**

Spike began to notice the Powers circling them.

What should we do, miss?

**Whatever it takes, William.  Just HURRY!**

The Powers stopped walking.  They said a quick chant and Willow was gone.

"Great.  Bloody great," muttered Spike.

*****

"Oh, fudge!" Willow cried.

"What?  What's going on?" Buffy asked.

"I lost them!" Willow said, upset.

"What?  Them?  Who?  What?" Xander asked.

"William and Spike.  Seems that the Powers are trying to send Spike to hell and William back here.  Spike and William are trying to change that."

"What?" Buffy jumped up.  "NO!  They can't do that!  He can't come back wrong!  Do something!"

"Buffy, I-I can't.  It's up to them to fix it!"

Buffy sank to her knees, a look of defeat on her face.  She leaned over Spike and stared at his face.  "You better come back right."

*****

"Now what?" William whispered loudly.

"I don't know!" Spike said slowly, trying not to panic.

"We have to send you back, William.  Time is almost up."

In a moment of desperation, Spike covered his ears and yelled at the top of his lungs.

"WE ALL LIVE IN A YELLOW SUBMARINE, YELLOW SUBMARINE, YELLOW SUBMARINE!  WE ALL LIVE IN A YELLOW SUBMARINE . . ."

He purposely sang off key and and began running around the three women.  

William raised an eyebrow.  He had no clue what was going on in Spike's head.

"Stop it now!  We command you!"

William smiled.  He knew exactly what was going on in Spike's head.  _My body was taken over by a bloody brilliant demon!_ he thought proudly.

Not knowing any modern songs, which he believed to be the most annoying, he began running around the Powers screaming his head off like a spoiled three year old.

The Powers rolled their eyes.  This had never happened before because people usually never acted this way in their presence.  They believed they were about to experience their first ever headache.

Sending Spike to a hell dimension would be cruel to the leaders of those dimensions.  He was the single most annoying creature they'd ever met, but he loved the Slayer.  Plus, he was a bad influence on Sweet William.  In addition, this kind of stuff just wasn't supposed to happen in Heaven.

Suddenly, everything was silent again.  William and Spike were gone . . . finally.  The Powers had made their decision.

Spike and William found themselves in the dark.


	19. Freedom

Title:  Sweet William 

Author:  Kelley (beanyb1999@hotmail.com)

Rating:  PG-13, babeeeee

Feedback:  Oh, I like feedback.  Please review!

Distribution:  You want it?  You really want it?  Let me know!

Summary:  Spike and Tara figured out what was wrong with Buffy.  Spike has gone to fix it.  Some chaos has ensued.

Disclaimer:  Joss owns them all.  I really need to remind him that I'm taking Spike for myself though.

Dedication:  For Christy, my biggest helper through this crazy mess I named "Sweet William."  For Shelley, my partner in crime.  We're working on our sequel to "I'll Most Likely Kill You In The Morning."  I promise!  We just posted a little ficlet called "Think About It."  Read it.  Review it.  It'll be fuuuuuun!  Ok, enough shameless advertising.  For my reviewers, you guys are the best!  You're awesome.  I love all of you…in a platonic sort of way.  Or something.

A/N:  Well, we're nearing the end.  Just another one or two chapters to go and this baby will be finished.  Aren't you excited?  I'll try to update when I have the time…right now I'm going through the three different rehearsals a day thing.  It's annoying.  Ok, I'm going to shut up now!  Toodles!

************************************************************************

"Well, this is . . . weird," Spike said, slowly removing his hands from his ears.

"Where are we?" William asked in wonderment.

"It looks like that bleedin' waitin' room from earlier."

Two doors appeared in front of them.  They were both exactly the same in every aspect, but there were no walls, just doors.

Spike walked around to the other side of the door, but nothing was there, except the other side of the door.

Spike snorted.  "What are we supposed to do now?"

He walked back over to William.  They both stared at the doors, hoping they would find an answer.

"We meet once again."

William and Spike turned around.  Once again, they were facing the same man who had brought Spike to his test.

"Would you mind tellin' us what's goin' on, mate?" Spike questioned.

"You've successfully annoyed the Powers more than anyone else ever has," the man said humorlessly.

"Yay us," William mumbled.

The man was not amused.

"Or-or not," William replied, nervous about what to expect next.  He looked down and then turned his head to Spike.

"Are you going to tell us what's behind door number one?" Spike asked impatiently.

"Something like that.  I won't tell you which door will lead you to the right place, but I'll tell you what's behind each."  He cleared his throat.  "Behind one door, you will find Heaven or Hell, depending of course on if you're a vampire or not.  Behind the other door, you will have a straight path back to the unclaimed body.  You get to decide which door to use."

"Well, that's bloody unfair considerin' I wasn't forewarned as to what to expect."

"The Powers decided that battling you was a lost cause.  They're going to let you choose your own fates."

"You get sent to do a lot of their work," Spike said, tilting his head.  

"That's how it has always been," the man retorted.

Spike nodded.  "You probably work harder than anyone else . . ."

"Forget it," the man said, interrupting Spike.  "I'm not going to tell you which door to go through."

Spike frowned.  "Fine.  We'll get it ourselves.  This better not be rigged . . ." 

The man disappeared before Spike could finish.

"Right," Spike answered, nodding vigorously.  "Bloody pillock," he muttered under his breath.

They looked the doors up and down.

*****

"Aaaah!  I can't take this!" Buffy cried, getting ready to pull out her hair.

"They have to choose the correct door," Drusilla said, swaying with her eyes closed.

"Does she always have to speak in metaphors?" Xander asked, not realizing she was actually being literal.

Drusilla laughed.

"Buffy!  Make it stop!"  Dawn looked down sadly at the sleeping vampire.  The teenager was beyond panic at this point.

"Dawnie, I wish I knew what to do!"

Buffy's hands were shaking.  She wanted to touch Spike, but the flickering kept getting worse.

She forced herself not to cry.  Crying would get her nowhere.  She would only upset Dawn.

Still, the thought of Spike coming back wrong made her sick to her stomach.  Funny, coming back wrong would constitute him having a soul.  He would also be William.  Not that she believed William would be a bad guy, but it wouldn't be the same.  William didn't want to come back. 

She also realized that Spike would cease to exist.  If no one came back, she'd eventually forget about the man who never gave up on her.  How ironic.

That's when she understood everything.  Spike was a part of her.  She'd feel whole if and when he came back.  Had that really been her problem all along?

Then it hit her for good.  Things definitely were not right.  At first it had all seemed like she'd been in a daze and that Spike would wake up no matter what.  But now, as she watched, the flickering was more frequent than ever.  The possibility of losing him forever loomed over her head.  It was the worst feeling in the world.

A tear rolled down her cheek.  She quickly rubbed it away.  

He just had to come back though!  She'd been such a bitch to him so many times in the past.  He still loved her.  He went back for her soul because he loved her.  He was now paying the price for loving her.

Another tear rolled down her cheek soon followed by another and then another.  Unable to stop the flow, she covered her face with her hands and cried as softly as she could.

The others were reminded of this situation, only reverse, when Spike had cried after Buffy died.

Somewhere, in the back of their minds, they all realized how important the bleached vampire was to the group.

"Spike, I'm still waiting," Buffy managed to say quietly between sobs.

*****

"Well," Spike said, clapping his hands once, "this is definitely not of the good."

"You're telling me," William grumbled.

Spike thought for a moment.  "Ok, I'll go through the door on the left and you go through the other one."

"Wait," William said, stepping forward.  "How do you know which one is which?"

"I don't know.  I was hoping you'd somehow be enlightened with the answer."

"Sorry to disappoint you," William replied, wrinkling his forehead.

"Hey, I think you've got the better end of the deal, mate."

"How do you figure that, Spike?"

"Well, you're either going to Heaven or to Sunnyhell.  I mean, Buffy's great.  Yeah, she's a real bitch at times, but maybe they'll like you better since you're human.  Just . . .try to make things all right for them if I end up in hell."

William frowned.  Everyone spoke of how evil vampires were.  The PTB could not stand Spike, but William didn't really think he was a bad guy.  If someone got past the bleached hair and the whole evil demon factor, they'd find a seemingly human vampire.  He looked at Spike and nodded solemnly.

They were silent for a moment.

"Ok, so there's no real way of knowing for sure which door is the right one.  Any ideas, William?"

William grinned.  "There's only one way I can think of."

"Go for it," Spike said, allowing William to step forward.

William pointed to the door at the left and then began pointing back and forth.

"Eeny meeny miney moe . . ."

Spike laughed uproariously.

William finished the popular chant, his arm pointed at the door on the left.

They both looked at each other.

"That's your exit," William told Spike nervously.

Spike sighed as the both stood in front of their respective doors.

They let out a nervous laugh.

"Wherever you end up, mate, don't become a grand poofter like my grandsire.  Got it?" Spike asked jokingly . . . sort of.

"Same to you," William replied with a laugh.

"And uh . . . good luck," Spike added, trying to sound nonchalant.

William grinned.

They both opened their doors, stepping through slowly.

*****

Buffy quickly wiped the tears from her face.  She took a deep breath.

Everyone in the room was quiet as possible.

They all stared at Spike.

Then, the flickering stopped.

At first, they didn't know what to expect.

When Spike's body didn't disappear, they all felt relief, but still didn't move.  They waited for Spike to wake up.

Buffy touched Spike's cheek.  She was still waiting for him.

Finally, his eyes opened.

No one said a word.

His eyes scanned the room.  His face remained blank.

Everyone continued to stare, trying to figure out if they were looking at Spike or William.

Buffy bit her lip.  She finally broke the silence.  "Spike?"

His eyes looked into hers.  He blinked quickly.

"Spike, is that you?" Buffy asked with hope in her voice.

He furrowed his brow.  "Wow."  That was all he said.


	20. Sunnyhell

Title: Sweet William 

Author:  Kelley (beanyb1999@hotmail.com)

Rating:  PG-13…as usual.

Feedback:  Yes, please!

Distribution:  Sure, you can have it.  Just ask me first…or something.

Summary:  Spike and Tara figured out what was wrong with Buffy.  Spike went to fix it.  Chaos ensued.

Disclaimer:  Joss owns 'em all.  He doesn't yet realize he's signed Spike over to me.  Now Spike is chained to my bed.  Bwahahahaha!

Dedication:  For Christy, cuz she helped me with this entire story.  For Shelley, who laughs at the "funny parts" of my story even though they aren't THAT funny.  Hehe.  For all my wonderful reviewers, you've made this a wonderful time for me.  I love you guys!

A/N:  Did you ever think we'd reach this point?  Here we are!  Yay!  Pretty much finished!

*********************************************************************

Buffy helped him sit up slowly.  She had a questioning look in her eyes.

"Spike?" she asked one final time.

He tilted his head, noting the worried look on her face.

"Miss me that much, pet?"

"Spike!"  Buffy and Dawn tackled the vampire.

Spike smiled.  "Don't knock me out again," he laughed.

They both got off him.

"Spike, we were worried you wouldn't be back," Dawn said.

"Are you kidding?  I told you I'd be back to annoy you!  You're not getting rid of me that bloody easy!" Spike replied.

"Well, I – we . . ." Buffy began.

"Do you feel . . .better?" Spike asked.

Buffy smiled.  "Much better . . .now."

"Good.  I'm glad.  That spell needs to come with a bleedin' warning label."

"So, what was it like?" the ever curious Dawn began interrogating.

"A bloody pain.  Me an' William gave the Powers a real headache.  I hope I don't have to do that again."

Buffy took Spike's hand.  "We're glad you're back."

"Guys, um, can we get out of here?" Xander asked.

"Yes, please," Anya said.  "All this tension has made me really horny and I read this really interesting article on sexual positions that I'd like to try with Xander . . ."

"Ok, that's enough," Dawn said, getting up and mumbling something about virgin ears and nasty adults.

"William whispers news in my ear!" Drusilla said, clapping.  "The stars have told me to go elsewhere."

Drusilla left, heading for the sewer in the back.

Xander shook his head.  "Why was she here?"

"She was here to help, honey," Anya said, patting Xander on the leg.

"Yes, and how very helpful she was with all her watching and metaphorical phrases," Xander retorted.

"We need to get Tara somewhere else," Willow interrupted, glancing at the unconscious witch.

Xander got up.  "I'm on it.  So . . . where to?"

"Um . . .Buffy's?"

Buffy's eyes shot up upon hearing her name.  She'd been paying too much attention to Spike to notice the conversation going on around her.

"What?"

"We're going to take Tara back to your house," Xander said.  "She needs to rest."

Buffy frowned.  "Oh.  Yeah, that's fine.  Go on ahead without me."

Xander and Willow stared at the Slayer for a moment but shrugged and agreed to.

"Let's go, Dawnie," Willow said.

Dawn was about to protest, but Willow cleared her throat and shook her head.  Dawn rolled her eyes and walked to the door.

Xander knelt down and picked Tara up slowly while Willow helped him get a better hold on her.

Anya smiled and patted Spike on the head.  "Welcome back, Spike.  You're not flickering anymore.  You should be happy."

Spike quirked an eyebrow and smiled.  "Right."

Dawn, Anya, and Willow left the Magic Box with Xander and Tara in tow.

After everyone left, Buffy turned to Spike.  She bit her lip.

"Spike, I . . ."

Spike held a finger to her lips.

"I should get going, Slayer," he whispered.

Buffy glared.  "Spike.  Look.  I just wanted to thank you."

"You're welcome, pet."  He stood up slowly

"Spike . . . I . . ." Buffy tried to find the words she was looking for.  What was she going to say?  Sorry for being such a bitch and treating you like scum.  That was a start.

"What is it, Buffy?" he asked softly.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking down.  "I'm sorry for being such a bitch."

Spike smiled.  "When?"

Buffy sighed.  "Uh, well, I guess always.  Wh-why don't you hate me?"

Spike shook his head and chuckled.  "Slayer, I never gave up on you.  You should realize that.  I love you now. I always will.  I'll never hate you."  He smiled sadly.  "I need to go now."  He turned to leave.

"Spike!" Buffy cried.  He turned to face her again.  He waited.  "I never realized . . .I . . ." she rolled her eyes.

"Buffy," he said, meeting her eyes, "what is it?"

"Nothing.  It's just . . ."  She walked up to him and kissed him.  "Thank you . . .for not leaving or giving up on me."

"No problem," he responded dryly.  He cupped the side of her face. 

She leaned into him, smiling.

"Anything else?" he asked.

"Yeah," she whispered.

He pulled her face up to his.  "What?"

"I love you," she whispered.  She reached up and kissed him again.

The door to the Magic Box opened suddenly and Dawn burst in.  "Forgot something," she said breathlessly, grabbing a book.  She ran back to the door.  "Guys!  Stop being so cheesy!"  She ran out.

Buffy and Spike looked at each other and stepped away.  They laughed awkwardly.

"Yeah, I think the Bit's right.  That was too much."  

They both smiled and laughed again.  Buffy looked in the direction of the door and Spike did the same.  

"Let's get out of here," Buffy said.

"Yeah.  Fast."  Spike began rummaging for his blanket.  It had somehow managed to wander off.

"So, how did you end up coming back instead of William?" Buffy asked.

"We had to choose the right door," Spike replied, looking under the table.

"Oh!  Really?  Wow!  Drusilla wasn't being all metaphorical then like Xander thought," Buffy replied in shock.

"Imagine that," Spike said, standing up and huffing.

"Where did the other door lead?" Buffy questioned.

"Hell," Spike responded, still distracted.

"What?!  Does that mean William is in hell?" she asked.

"No, the door would take him to Heaven and me to Hell.  That's all.  Of course, I can't find my blanket.  I wonder if the Powers are trying to punish me."

"So, William's in Heaven again?"

"I guess so."  He went behind the counter and looked on the shelves.

*****

William slowly opened his eyes.  "My word!" he exclaimed.

He looked around him.  _Uh oh,_ he thought to himself.  _Something isn't right._

He frowned.  Wasn't Heaven a little less…scary?  _Where am I?_  He looked up and down, desperately trying to figure out what was going on.  He wasn't in Sunnydale.  He wasn't in a body at all.  

"William.  Welcome!" a voice from behind called.  He spun around.  When he saw who was behind him, he rolled his eyes.  

"What are you birds doing here?  Are you trying to torture me…again?"  He glared at the three women whom he couldn't seem to get away from.  "What's going on?"

The Powers smiled at William.  "This," they said, waving their arms around in a grand gesture, "is your new home."

William looked around again.  _Why is this happening to me?_  He then noticed a familiar face in the distance and groaned inwardly.  "Bloody hell!"

*****

"Found it!" Spike cried excitedly.  

Buffy sighed and smiled.  "Good.  Let's go then."

They walked to the door.

"So, Slayer, when you said you loved me…?"

Buffy stared at the vampire with an amused look on her face.  "I meant it, Spike.  Believe me, I never expected it to happen, but it did.  You really came through for me.  You're the only person I have never been able to lie to."  She paused.  "Ok, it's happening again.  Let's go before we get cavities."

Spike smiled.  "I love you too, Slayer," he said quietly.

Buffy opened the door and allowed Spike to run outside.  She laughed when the blanket began smoking…as it always did.  She closed the door to the Magic Box and ran to catch up with Spike.


	21. Epilogue: William

Title: Sweet William 

Author:  Kelley (beanyb1999@hotmail.com)

Rating:  PG-13…what else?

Feedback:  Pleeeeeeeeeeease, send feedback!  I'll love you forever!!

Distribution:  You want it?  Lemme know!

Summary:  Spike and Tara have figured out what is wrong with Buffy.  Spike has gone to fix it.  Things are pretty much back to normal…or are they?

Disclaimer:  Joss owns 'em.  I will get Spike for myself one day!

Dedication:  For Christy, who helped me all the way through this.  For Shelley, my partner in crime.  We just posted the first few chapters of our sequel to "I'll Most Likely Kill You In The Morning" and it's called "Camelot Is A Silly Place."  Please read it!  For all my reviewers, I love you guys!  You rock!!

A/N:  WELL, HERE IT IS!  THE FINAL CHAPTER!  Are you happy?  Sad?  Angry?  Whatever?  Hehehe.  Please read and review!  

*********************************************************************

William sighed as his eyes scanned the place once more.

Heaven?

Ha!  This was anything but.

William was in California, but not Sunnydale.  Spike was in Sunnydale having made it safely back to his body.  Spike was with the Slayer . . . in Sunnydale.

But not William.

Nope!

William was in . . . L.A.

The PTB sent him there with a mission.  He was on a mission!!!  Luckily for him, that didn't involve attempting life again.  He was just there.

So, there he stood, in the lobby of the Hyperion . . . of all places.

_Bloody wonderful_, he thought glumly.  He was bored out of his mind.

Slowly but surely, people began to gather in the lobby.  He watched as the group gathered around a table.

William floated over there . . . he could do that, still being a creature of Heaven and all . . . and peered over their shoulders.

They were all cooing over a tiny baby.

William smirked.  _So, these are the ones who protect citizens of L.A. from the major baddies every night?_  He rolled his eyes and started to pace back and forth.

Spike had rubbed off on him in that respect . . .well, in that one respect.  In actuality, he had grown quite fond of his demon self and unconsciously began acting like him.

The Powers That Be were none too happy about that.  That is how he came upon this mission given to him by them.  

Their way of exacting revenge for that awful headache he and Spike had caused them?

Probably.

A chuckle escaped from his mouth.

Angel frowned and looked behind him.

"Spike?  What are you doing here?  HOW did you get here?  WHEN did you get here?  WHAT did you do to your hair?"

Everyone at the table stopped cooing at Connor and were now focused on the soulful vampire.

"Angel, who are you talking to?" Cordelia asked.

"Spike," Angel replied in annoyance.

"Who's Spike?" Fred and Gunn asked in unison.

"An annoying vampire with badly bleached hair and an awful wardrobe," Cordelia replied, ever the fashion queen.

William laughed out loud again.

Angel glared at him.  "Why are you here?"

"Angel, who are you talking to?" Wesley asked worriedly.

"Spike!  I already told you that!"

William crossed his arms over his chest in amusement.

"Guess again, Peaches," he retorted.

Angel furrowed his brow.  "Wh-what?"

"Angel, have you experienced any major head trauma lately?" Fred asked with concern.

"No!  Can't you see him?" Angel asked, sounding desperate.

"See who?" they questioned in unison.

"Spike!" Angel cried.

"I'm not Spike you stupid git," William remarked.

"You sound like him," Angel replied in confusion.

"Actually, I'm William.  Spike used to be me before your crazy Drusilla bit me."

"What do you want?" Angel asked quietly.

William smiled gleefully.  "Isn't that a wonderful question?"  He rubbed his hands together.  "I have been sent here to be your Guardian Angel," he replied with a smirk.

"My Guardian Angel?"  Angel raised his eyebrows.

"Yes yes.  You know.  I'm supposed to lead you down the path of righteousness," he said with a wickedly mischievous grin.

"That sounds promising," Angel remarked sarcastically.

"Uh, Angel?  Yo!  You're freakin' us out!" Gunn said loudly.

"Excuse me.  We're trying to talk here soul-boy," William stated dryly.

Angel rolled his eyes.  "Shut up."

"Sorry, man," Gunn said quickly.

"Not you.  Sorry."  He looked at Gunn apologetically.

"Your hair is messed up," William said with a smile.

Angel quickly put his hand to his hair.  "It is?  Where?" he asked, panic filling his voice.  Then he glared at William.  "If you're my Guardian Angel, why are you so annoying?  Why are you so much like Spike?"

"Well, we're practically the same person anyway, oh Mighty Poofter."

Angel didn't know what to think.  He looked like Spike, but his accent was different.  He sounded more like Giles with a little more bite to his words.  _This oughta be a whole lot of fun,_ Angel thought dejectedly.

Cordelia patted Angel's shoulder.  "Ok, Angel, I think you need a nap or something.  You obviously have not been sleeping enough.  Just go take a nap.  We'll look after Connor for you."

William's eyes lit up.  "You have a son?  That's rich!"  William laughed and slapped his knee.

Angel growled under his breath, then sighed.  "I'm fine, Cordy.  I promise."

"Angel and Cordy, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N . . ."

"William!" Angel yelled, startling everyone.

"Who's William?" Fred and Gunn asked in unison.

Angel slapped his forehead and moaned.

William rubbed his hands together, enjoying himself quite a bit.

Angel turned and glared at him.  

"I need to go hit something," Angel mumbled, "before this idiot makes me lose my mind," he added under his breath.  "I'll be back later."

"O-ok!" Fred cried.  "We'll take care of Connor!"

Angel walked off with a quick wave of his hand and headed to the sparring room.  William followed quietly.  He figured he was ready for a little more mischief.

Angel stared at the wall.  "Why me?" he asked in exasperation.  He sat against the wall momentarily, grateful for the quiet.

Or so he thought.

William chose that moment to burst into song.

"This is the song that doesn't end!  Yes it goes on and on my friends.  Some people started singing it not knowing what it was!  And they'll continue singing it forever just because this is the song that doesn't end!  Yes . . ."

"Cut it out!" Angel growled.

William stopped singing, but smiled nonetheless.

"Are you going to follow me everywhere?"

"Well, yeah.  I mean I am your Guardian Angel.  What do you expect?"

"Why do I need a Guardian Angel?  Don't I have to go through enough?  I mean, Cordelia takes my credit card ALL the time!"

"Hey, it's not like I asked to be here.  The PTB are a little brassed off at Spike and me so they decided to send me here to be your Guardian Angel.  I figured, if I have to do this, I might as well make the most of it."

"What did you do to the Powers That Be?" Angel asked annoyed.

"It's not important," William said, shrugging.

"Well, could you stay out of my business?"

"Your business is my business, Peaches."

Angel rolled his eyes for what seemed like the fiftieth time.

William began humming "Amazing Grace."

Angel threw his hands in the air dejectedly.

"Do you have to do that?  You're as bad as Spike!"

William smiled triumphantly but continued to hum since he hadn't quite finished the whole song yet.

Angel just sighed and attempted to tune him out.

_Wait, this isn't as bad as I thought it would be.  This IS Heaven!  _William thought to himself, excited about the prospect of being able to annoy Angel day and night as he pleased.  _I wonder what Spike is up to._  He grinned.

THE END!!!!! 

**A/N2:**  Heh, what do you think?  Sequel?  I'm just not sure.  Maybe not, but you never know.  It just depends on how much time I have I guess.  Thanks for reading my story.  I'm glad you took the time to follow along.  THANKS GUYS!!


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